Stricter shotgun licensing rules proposed by government

The UK Government has announced that it is proposing a consultation on the alignment of Section 2 shotguns with Section 1 firearms. This change would require the same considerations to be applied to shotgun licensing as is currently applied to firearms.

At present, the regime for firearms licensing is understandably more rigorous than that for shotguns. Firearms come in two types; high velocity and subsonic. A subsonic round, typically a .22 rimfire type of ammunition, is mostly used to control rabbits and has a bullet that travels at less than the speed of sound (767 mph). As a result, it loses velocity quickly but it is still capable of inflicting serious injury at several hundred yards. By contrast, a high velocity round is usually .243 or above (a minimum gauge requirement to control deer populations) and travels at over twice the speed of sound, making it quite capable of fatally injuring someone a mile away.

For shotguns, pellets come in a variety of different sizes. The vast majority of pellets are of a size which, even from a misdirected shot from 100 metres away, would be unlucky to cause serious injury.

The need for greater care in granting a firearms certificate as opposed to a shotgun are clear. Many farmers and landowners have no need of the former but absolutely require the latter to control rabbits and pigeons that might otherwise decimate crops.

The first question must be to ask whether the proposed changes will make any meaningful difference to the safe management and use of shotguns or firearms? The government has presented no evidence of this, and at present, it is not easy to see how such changes would achieve it.

The government proposals, if enacted, will make the whole application process for a shotgun licence more expensive and more time consuming. In addition to aligning the rules, there is a proposal to apply “full cost recovery” in determining fees, but the CLA is by no means convinced that the calculations to work this out stand up to scrutiny. It is already the case that police forces manage the licensing process very differently, and a number of them take a substantial amount of time even to deal with renewals of existing licences.

The CLA would like to see a central hub, similar to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), that handles all paperwork for licences. This would include checking references, leaving local forces to carry out inspections of storage facilities.

We are also supporting the Countryside Alliance e-lobby which links to a letter to your MP opposing the merging of shotgun and firearms regulations. A link to the campaign can be found here and is particularly important to engage with if you have a Labour MP.

This proposal affects another related issue, the year-on-year increase in deer numbers nationally. Huge herds of fallow, numbering into the thousands, are now running in southern England, destroying crops, tree planting practices and causing many road accidents each year.

The spread of muntjac and the increase in roe population is also causing substantial damage to the understory in woodlands. In some cases, rare plant life in ancient woodlands and sites of special scientific interest is being lost.

When this influx in deer populations occurs, controls must take place for humane reasons. This intervention must be carried out with a high velocity rifle and there is a need for more people to be trained and qualified to carry it out. As a result of this demand inevitably rising as more deer management takes place, the government must give great consideration to ensure that the firearm certificate process is safely streamlined.