What’re the rules on the use of Air Rifles?

Posted by NegKDRatio@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 30 comments

Posting here mainly because legal advice is still private. A guy on my road shoots his air rifle out his house, down his garden to targets which are in front of concrete. From what I can tell this is reasonable. He also shoots birds out of trees in his land which is where the advice is needed. From what I can tell you can only shoot your air rifle if there is a backstop. It doesn’t seem safe to be shooting up at trees where a miss could go anywhere. My main issue is the birds rarely die from the shot and just hop about injured and unable to fly. Seems a bit barbaric even if they are considered pests. What are the rules around shooting birds on your land? TIA

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30 Comments

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FilmFanatic1066@reddit

I’d contact the RSPCA on that front, they can attend with the police if needed for something like that.

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Kitchen_Part_882@reddit

Agreed, this activity is illegal under section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and may fall under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 too (he may have a defence to the former if the bids are "pest species"). I'd get the police involved first rather than the RSPCA/RSPB. The mere act of carrying it "with intent to commit a crime" (e.g. shooting wild birds) puts him in line for a firearms offence under English law.

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AshamedTranslator892@reddit

Re last paragraph, would it be considered a firearm in that setting?

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RomeoJullietWiskey@reddit

All air weapons are under section 1 of the firearms act. Any pistol with an output of no more than 6ft lbs or a rifle with an output of no more of 12 ft lbs are licence exempt.

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AshamedTranslator892@reddit

Except those with a muzzle velocity of less than one joule, under s 57. I guess that's a really low number and likely not the one used in this case?

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RomeoJullietWiskey@reddit

Yes, under 1 Joule is regarded as a toy. Because of the low output the range and accuracy are low. So very unlikely to be the case here.

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AshamedTranslator892@reddit

Cheers for the Wikipedia research.

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RomeoJullietWiskey@reddit

I am target shooting instructor primarily for the Scouts and need to have a working knowledge of the Firearms Act.

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AshamedTranslator892@reddit

Nah I was just taking the piss. Thanks for the info.

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bazoomer@reddit

Film him on phone doing it, call police, I had same problem, guy had his confiscated, and went to court, not sure of his sentence, but it wasn't enough.

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RIGHT-FUCK-OFF@reddit

Guy sounds like a complete prick. Yes you need a backstop and a [general licence](https://basc.org.uk/gl/england/) to kill most wild birds, and a good reason for doing so. Sounds to me he's a shite shot and torturing the birds for his own cruel fun. Report him.

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OkTry4424@reddit

Err, correct me if I'm wrong but he doesn't need to apply for a licence, it's just a set of rules to abide by? I grant it's been a while since I lived in a more rural area and had a rifle.

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WarWonderful593@reddit

The general licence is not for the rifle. It's permission to shoot pest species.

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OkTry4424@reddit

Yeah I realise that. Aren't things like wood pigeons and magpies still legal quarry?

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TooOldToCareIsTaken@reddit

"General Licences in England are currently issued by Natural England. You do not need to apply to use a General Licence, but you are required by law to abide by their terms and conditions." From your link.

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HarassedPatient@reddit

Nearly all birds are legally protected - he's commiting a criminal offence unless they're pigeons or corvids. Call the police

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NegKDRatio@reddit (OP)

They’re pigeons and crows that I’ve seen

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bitcoin-o-rama@reddit

Crows are super intelligent. This guy needs to be reported.

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Kitchen_Part_882@reddit

As far as I'm aware he would still need a licence to shoot them and would not be permitted to cause "unnecessary suffering".

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Peg_leg_J@reddit

You don't need a licence, but you can't just shoot like this. You need a reasonable cause to be controlling birds deemed as pests in this manner.

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AshamedTranslator892@reddit

[https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/27/section/21A](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/27/section/21A) Maybe have a word with him?

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Fatboy40@reddit

Read up on the VCRA (Violent Crime Reduction Act) as this has sections about air rifles that are probably relevant (and I believe that there's one that covers use at home on private property).

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Peg_leg_J@reddit

A couple of issues with this. 1 - You can't shoot within 50ft of a public path or road 2 - You can't just shoot birds 3 - Concrete is a terrible backstop and can ricochet 4 - He's technically in a public place - if the general public can see him do this Call the police.

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Electrical_Grand_423@reddit

Obligatory NAL. I don't believe a backstop is necessarily required, so long as the shot isn't going into someone else's property. IIRC though there is something about not shooting over or in the direction of and within a certain distance (30 metres sounds right, but I honestly can't recall) of a public road or footpath. As others have said there are also potentially legal issues regarding the birds he's shooting and even if they are legal, there's ethical issues since he's not getting clean kills. The British Association of Shooting and Conservation can probably explain the legality better than I can, so it may be worth reaching out to them if you didn't want to call the Police at this stage. But I agree with a previous poster. The guy's an arsehole.

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LadyMirkwood@reddit

My husband shoots Air Rifles competitively, this is not on. The practice with a backstop in the garden is fine, but Live Quarry shooting can only be done on your own property or with permission of the landowner. Wild birds are protected and 'pest' species can only be shot with specific reason under licensing (crop damage, conservation, etc) Firing beyond your boundary is legally Trespassing. [BASC](https://basc.org.uk/codes-of-practice/air-rifles-code-of-practice/) has plenty of information on this.

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moreglumthanplum@reddit

If he's shooting up into trees then the key issue is shot falling outside his property - that's a big no-no, and you'd be quite justified in calling the police about it. https://basc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2019/07/KNOW-YOUR-LAW-AIR-WEAPONS-2018.pdf

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variosItyuk@reddit

Another point to note is what is he shooting. It's illegal to shoot most wild birds in the UK so if he's shooting protected birds then he's an even bigger idiot.

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X555WXM@reddit

From what I can remember, the specifics of discharging a firearm/air weapon are not so much complicated but lengthy. It sounds like what he's doing is illegal and it probably is to some extent. I retired from the police 20yrs ago and the legislation may well have changed, but what won't have changed is what can you do about it. The police/RSPCA are gonna need evidence to prosecute..that means you, or anyone else who has seen something, making a good enough statement and being prepared to go to court with it. The old "Just have a word officer" thing seldom worked in my experience and half the time caused more trouble than it was worth.. By the way..ya neighbour's a twat.

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bobmanuk@reddit

Reminds me of the time a little shit got his parents air rifle and was shooting in his back yard against a slatted wooden fence, one of his shots must have missed and hit me in the upper cheek about an inch from my eye… that was fun having the pellet dug out of my face, hate the fucking things

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CycIizine@reddit

In Scotland he will also need an air weapon licence.