SHOOTING TO KILL: How pets are becoming target practice casualties; RSPCA'S CHIEF INSPECTOR CALLS FOR EXTRA RESTRICTIONS ON AIR RIFLES AND BB GUNS TO CUT OUT INJURIES TO ANIMALS.

Byline: Hayley Cuthbertson

YESTERDAY the Evening Telegraph reported how carrying air guns and replica pistols can have serious consequences for youths who think it is just a bit of fun. Crime reporter HAYLEY CUTHBERTSON looks at why the RSPCA is supporting the police in calling for a complete ban of the weapons in public places.

POLICE are not the only ones concerned at the increase in the number of air guns and ball-bearing guns on our streets.

Yesterday, Warwickshire Police called on parents and children to look at the dangers of carrying replica guns in public, saying it can lead to distress and injury, or even death.

But animal lovers have also been sickened by a rise in shootings of both wild animals and birds, and domestic pets.

The RSPCA has been lobbying the government over the past few years, calling for extra restrictions on the buying and hiring of weapons like this, particularly for younger people.

In response, restrictions were placed on high-powered air guns, meaning that people now need a firearms certificate to own or use an air rifle classed as being especially dangerous by firearms laws.

But the RSPCA say these guns are not the ones commonly endangering animals - most cases of injury involve children or youths firing low-powered air guns or BB guns, using animals or birds as "target practice".

Richard Seddon, chief inspector for the RSPCA for Coventry and Warwickshire, says he and his staff have come across a catalogue of sickening incidents where wildlife and pets have been injured and killed by these weapons.

He said: "It is almost impossible to put a figure on it because what we see is probably only the tip of the iceberg.

"Animals cannot talk - they are not able to tell people if they have been shot at, so it is only when witnesses report it to the police or if an owner realises a pet has been injured that we get to hear about it."

Most of those injuries reported involve pet cats, which are out of the house much more by themselves than other pets.

Some of the shootings are only detected at a later date when a cat is being examined by a vet for other reasons - often animal X-rays show up pellets or metal caps which have been embedded under the skin for years.

And Insp Seddon says experts can only hazard a guess at how many shootings of rabbits, ducks, swans and other wild creatures go unreported every year.

He recalls picking up a swan from Wyken Slough in Coventry some time ago after a member of public reported it had an injured wing.

He said: "When we got it to the vet, the X-rays showed it had no less than three pellets embedded in its head, and had probably been shot on at least three different occasions.

"It is sickening really, to pick up a creature for a completely unrelated incident and then realise it has been shot like that."

More than 70 per cent of vets report they have detected air weapon injuries in animals they have examined.

In March this year, two pet cats were shot in the Hartshill area of Nuneaton.

One of the animals, a tabby belonging to Ian and Seren Lockley, of Trentham Road, died a day later from a deep wound to its stomach.

The cat, named Jacqueline, was shot at with an air rifle while on the roof of the family home.

Mrs Lockley, who put up a pounds 1,000 reward to catch the killer, told the Evening Telegraph how the vet who examined her pet estimated it had been shot at from no more than 20ft away.

She said: "Who in their right mind would kill a family pet? Why have people got these guns?"

Two years ago, the Evening Telegraph reported how another Nuneaton cat had been blinded in one eye after being shot.

The injury only came to light when a vet examined Nicola Cresswell's cat Sid for suspected glaucoma, and then discovered a two-inch pellet lodged in one of his eyes.

At that time, police received reports of a spate of attacks on animals in Camp Hill, including another pet cat, and seven baby swans, found dead in Stubbs Pool.

Earlier this month, a pony kept in a field near Atherstone was shot with an air gun, and was left with a wound on one of its flanks.

Insp Seddon said: "What concerns me is that during the school holidays you get 15 and 16-year-olds wandering around nature reserves with these guns taking pot shots at whatever they see.

"It is mindless cruelty, but I suppose they just see it as entertainment."

RSPCA officers spend as much time as they can carrying out highly-visible patrols in nature areas and parks where wildlife is present, in the hope it will act as a deterrent to the young killers.

He added: "I can't see any reason why people should have these guns in public places, they should only be used in regulated, organised places.

"And I would like to see a complete ban on under 18s using them at all."

At present, young people aged 14 to 17 can be given or lent an air weapon, but not buy or hire one.

Youths caught shooting animals or birds could face heavy fines of up to pounds 5,000 plus six months in prison if convicted of the criminal offence of carrying a loaded air weapon in a public place.

For further information on how to use air guns safely contact local police, who can advise people on how to join a reputable shooting club or organisation.

CAPTION(S):

DANGEROUS: Damage caused by an air gun pellet and (left) RSPCA chief inspector for Coventry and Warwickshire, Richard Seddon is concerned about cruelty to animals using guns; SPOT THE DIFFERENCE: PC Nick Lyle with an air gun on the left and a 458 Parker Hill rifle on the right and (inset) Nicola Cresswell with her injured cat, shot in the eye two years ago