MP’s have been warned to put new legislation in place that will help to close a loophole in the law which allows people including children to legally buy weapons which is capable of killing wildlife. The alert was issued during a briefing in parliament which set out growing evidence that catapults were being misused against animals and to damage other people’s private property. The Naturewatch Foundation who hosted the session expanded on their message that at the moment there is a completely unregulated system where people of any age can buy weapons and there are no meaningful controls on sale or power.
At the moment police and communities are powerless to act and are unable to put any preventative measures in place to avoid such incidents occurring. This means that officers cannot confiscate catapults unless there has been another offence already committed. Incidents involving catapults are also not recorded as any specific type of crime which means it is hard to relate and join the dots together to help create a more meaningful solution. This means the true scale of wildlife harm, antisocial behaviour and community impact is significantly underestimated. The event room in Parliament was kindly sponsored by Max Wilkinson MP.
“These items being sold are not toys and it is not harmless mischief,” said Jim Clark, Wildlife Crime Campaign Manager at Naturewatch Foundation. “Modern catapults are capable of lethal force. Legislative failure to tackle this issue is costing wildlife their lives, traumatising communities and putting unnecessary pressure on already overstretched police forces. It’s a loophole that urgently needs closing.”
The number of animals including swans, birds, hedgehogs, squirrels and domestic pets is increasing all the time and this worrying trend is heightened because many are being deliberately targeted catapults and crossbows.
Alongside the Parliamentary briefing, Naturewatch Foundation has launched a public petition calling for catapult sales to be restricted to over-18s, urging both government action and greater responsibility from major retailers.
The petition calls on the Policing Minister, Sarah Jones MP, to support legislation closing the loophole that allows catapults to be sold without restriction, while also pressing retailers to introduce immediate voluntary age checks and remove high-powered catapults from toy and sports categories.
“Retailers have the power to act now, even before the law changes,” Jim Clark added. “When a leading retailer continues to sell unregulated weapons to anyone of any age, it enables harm that is entirely preventable.”
Andy Harper, CEO of Gumtree, stated: “Animal cruelty has no place in society, and we are committed to ensuring our platform is not used to facilitate the sale of items that could contribute to such harm.”
Naturewatch Foundation is campaigning for:
– The introduction of an age restriction of 18+ for purchasing catapults and slingshots
– Exploration of sales controls similar to those used for knives and air weapons
– Prevention of sales of ultra-high-powered devices marketed irresponsibly for “hunting”
– Improvement of crime recording to accurately capture catapult-related offending
Catapults and slingshots are not specifically regulated under UK firearms legislation and there is currently no statutory minimum age for purchasing them in England and Wales.
The Firearms Act 1968 regulates firearms and air weapons but does not include catapults or slingshots within the definition of controlled firearms.
Wildlife in England and Wales is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it illegal to intentionally kill, injure or take many species of wild birds and animals without lawful authority.
“The government should treat powerful catapults as the dangerous weapons they can be, not just harmless toys.
“We need a ban on sales to those under 18, with clear restrictions on carrying them in public, and tougher penalties when they’re used to harm animals or damage property.”
That’s according to wildlife crime campaigner Jim Clark
According to responses from 37 out of 43 forces, about 7,200 crime records from the five years to the end of 2024 mentioned the words.
Some forces, including the Metropolitan Police Service and Greater Manchester Police, were unable to answer, therefore the total number of crime logs mentioning the objects is likely to be higher.
