UK Air rifle rules? Nightmare neighbours

[camperjam]

I've tried googling but keep getting conflicted answers.

Some teenagers were standing on my neighbours shed roof shooting an air rifle. They killed a woodpigeon and were firing over other gardens.

We live in a built up area, they could have easily hit people or damaged property.

My young children were in the garden so I called the police, who didn't come out.

I can't work out what the law says about doing this but surely it's not allowed?

They are allowed to shoot. Some birds are vermin which are fine, but not others. I dont know about wood pigeon.

However they are not supposed to shoot over other gardens. Its supposed to stay within their own boundary.

At least thats what the police said when our neighbours were doing the same. They just told them to keen within their boundary, which they did for a bit.

Did you tell the police you saw your neighbours waving a firearm around or shooting an air rifle?
Different wording would get different outcomes I suspect.

If a pellet travels outside of the property it was fired from, they have broken the law.

I'm no expert.

But as long as the air rifle is under a certain pressure its classed as legal. However their animal cruelty and anti social behaviour is not.

I'd ring the RSPCA to discuss them killing birds. They have unique powers to investigate animal abuse. Talk to them they may be able to guide you.

waving a firearm around or shooting an air rifle?

An air rifle is classed as a firearm in English law under the Firearms Act 1968.

Our gardens aren't big enough to keep within the boundary, at least one of the pellets hit a tree in my garden directly above my children

All birds are protected in UK law, though there are exceptions, and they're not related to particular species, but particular circumstances.

www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/wildlife-and-the-law/wildlife-and-countryside-act/exceptions/

So multiple people were shooting guns and the police didn’t attend ?
I think you need to be more careful with what you say next time.

The police called me back to apologise for taking so long to respond but still didn't turn up.

I told them that I thought it was an air rifle but couldn't be sure.

Our nearest police station is in another town and we tend to get forgotten about

The new law (Chris Packam helped push it through recently) says you can’t kill pigeons, which is a total pita for landowners. I would be talking to the police again.

My sister was hit in the face by an air rifle pellet in the 90s and has a permanent scar. Not suitable at all for use in a built up area and definitely not by a bunch of teens stood on a shed fucking about. It's disappointing the police didn't attend for that.

I have had a similar problem, off and on. Unfortunately I couldn't report as I don't know which neighbour it is. However I have had a pellet whistle very closely past my ear as I was sitting down. If my head had been slightly turned and over by an inch it would have gone in my eye. Go back to the police and if they still seem uninterested then make an official complaint.

Go back to the police. They came out to our house when someone complained .They should always check it out

You have to be a certain number of metre's away from the road as well. I can't remember the distance (maybe 30 m). They could be breaking that rule too.

The rule is clear. No licence is needed for an air rifle. You can shoot on your own land - your garden for most people, not rolling acres 'land'. BUT the shot pellet must not go beyond the bounds of your own property. That also applies if you shoot into the air (rather than at a target) and the pellet land outside your land.

You CAN shoot wood pigeon, they are classed as vermin. But there are conditions, you can't shoot them just for the fun of it and normally you will only meet those conditions if you're a farmer. So threat to livestock, threat to food for livestock etc.

From law www.fieldsportschannel.tv/airgun-law-uk/

Let’s start with doves and pigeons: You can shoot woodpigeons and feral pigeons all over the UK. You can’t shoot stock doves, collared doves or turtle doves. Woodpigeons make good eating but you can’t shoot one to eat it. And if someone questions you, you have to show that you were preventing serious damage to crops. Here’s a crop. Or foodstuffs for livestock. Here’s some foodstuff. Plus it’s worth being able to produce a scarecrow to show you have tried other means. Seriously.

Actually I slightly oversimplified above^^. You can shoot on someone else's land with the owner's permission. Same conditions.

That's been amended, for the (pita) reason you gave. There is now a list of 20 species which can be shot, as before subject to conditions, for pest control.

Thanks everyone. I'm going to get in touch with the police again. There have been numerous anti social issues with teenagers visiting the neighbours and I'm fed up with it.

They were definitely shooting birds for the fun if it.

Point out the progression. They get bored of shooting birds so move onto cats. Then dogs. Then passing children. Then anyone. It's happened before. Plenty of newspaper reports.

Good luck op.

Do you mean England? There is much tighter regulation on air guns in Scotland - you need a permit/licence to own one or buy one.

This is just a stupid answer u are talking about teenagers here not fully grown adults who actually know how to shoot accurately and whom actually eat it phoning the police just makes all hunters look bad

No wonder British laws on guns are so messed up in America you can literally put a full mag into someone with a Glock 17 if they try to harm you in the uk the best u can carry is a rape alarm

Zombie thread.

Just teaching illiterate ppl how the world should work

People
You can't call people illiterate if you can't type a proper sentence