Cats targeted in sick attacks by airgun-toting thugs sees sharp rise — with 46 per cent of shootings proving fatal
RSPCA figures reported 341 airgun attacks on cats in 2017 and has taken 395 calls about animals — not just cats — injured or killed by the weapons so far this year
GRANDAD Doug Taw was sunning himself in his back garden when the peace was shattered by a series of loud bangs.
Minutes later, he watched in horror as his cat Puss Puss, injured and clearly in pain, dragged herself to the house.
Vets later found that her tiny body was riddled with 41 pellets, fired from an air-powered gun.
Puss Puss was blinded in one eye but survived the senseless attack which, shockingly, is far from unusual.
SIX domestic cats are shot EVERY WEEK by gun-toting thugs, a Sun Investigation today reveals.
RSPCA figures reported 341 airgun attacks on cats in 2017. It has taken 395 calls about animals — not just cats — injured or killed by the weapons so far this year.
The official toll is sickening enough, but Cats Protection experts believe the true number is actually much higher.
A spokesman says: “It’s highly likely they are underestimating the true number because airgun attacks on cats are rarely witnessed.
“Cats tend to disappear when injured so one that’s been shot may hide, not survive and never come home.”
In a Cats Protection survey, 44 per cent of vets questioned had treated cats that were victims of attacks by air-powered weapons in the preceding year, with nearly 46 per cent of those shootings proving fatal.
Fortunately for 71-year-old Doug, Puss Puss survived after she was attacked near his home in Ardleigh, Essex, in April 2016.
Doug, a retired lorry driver, says: “It must have been one callous b*****d to have done that deliberately.
“I try to believe it was an accident, but it’s hard to think that was the case.
“She was peppered with shots, vets were concerned she’d get lead poisoning.
“She made a great recovery. She’s lucky not to have died.
“I’ve since heard about other cats being shot locally, so it seems to be a growing problem.”
Unfortunately, cases like this are tough to prosecute.
You need no licence to own an airgun and they can cost as little as £60.
Under 18s cannot own them but can use them with the supervision of a person aged 21 or over.
To stop the slaughter, charities are calling for the mandatory licensing of airguns in England and Wales, following Northern Ireland and Scotland’s clampdown on the weapons.
A government review on airguns was set up after two tragedies involving children.
Policing minister Nick Hurd promised to see if controls concerning the weapons are still “appropriate and effective” after a debate in the Commons in October.
But little progress has been made.
And last week, calls for change were renewed after six-year-old Stanley Metcalf of Sproatley, East Yorks, was shot dead in what police described as “a tragic accident involving a pellet airgun”.
RSPCA assistant director David Bowles, says: “We’ve long been calling for stricter controls over airguns, and better explanation of the law for those buying one.
“Our 24-hour cruelty hotline receives hundreds of calls every year reporting airgun attacks on animals. They suffer horrendous injuries and often die as a result.”
Karen Clarkson is now too scared to let cats Cookie, seven, and Thor, one, outside after they were targeted three times in three months.
The 37-year-old medical secretary, from Derby, says: “It was March when Cookie came home with blood on her back. The vet said she’d been shot with an airgun. Luckily, she’d been hit on her spine which stopped the pellet penetrating into her body — otherwise she’d have been killed.” Three months later and Thor was blasted, too.
Karen says: “I took him straight to the vet who removed a pellet from his shoulder.
“Then, a week later, he was attacked again — the vet said the pellet had fractured his rib, just missing his aorta.
“It’s horrendous that someone is deliberately targeting cats. How could anyone stand there with a gun and shoot an animal?”
The same question has plagued publicity officer Katie Fowler, 31, and her partner Robert Miller, 34, since their one-year-old black and white kitten Jem was shot in the shoulder.
Katie, from Hove, East Sussex, says: “When I started letting my cats outside I was worried they might be hit by a car or get locked in a shed — I never imagined that someone would deliberately shoot one with an airgun.
“One evening in June, Jem appeared and was limping, and she went to hide under our bed. We took her to the emergency vet who cleaned her wound, gave her antibiotics and told us to take her for an X-ray the following morning at our local vet.
“It revealed she’d been shot in the shoulder. If she’d been struck on her side, it would have been fatal.
“I know Jem was lucky to survive. So many cats are seriously hurt or killed by airgun attacks — it’s appalling that this is allowed to happen.
Cat attack stats
Six cats are shot by airgun-toting thugs each week.
A horrifying 395 cats were injured or killed in the first half of this year.
There were 341 airgun attacks on cats in 2017.
Of the moggies who suffer airgun attacks, 46 per cent die.
“Jem is such a sweet, tiny cat. I just can’t understand why anyone would want to hurt her. The thought that plays on my mind is that the person who attacked Jem may live nearby.”
She adds: “If we want to bring the number of shootings down in England and Wales, we need to licence these dangerous weapons.”
At present, a culprit faces up to six months’ prison and an unlimited fine for using an airgun to kill or injure an animal. But Cats Protection’s Jacqui Cuff says more needs to be done.
In May, she helped to deliver a petition with more than 100,000 signatures to Westminster, urging MPs to take urgent action.
Jacqui says: “We know that 90 per cent of reported airgun attacks on cats happen in England and Wales, and it’s no coincidence that these are the parts of the country where licensing of airguns is not in place. Laws on airguns in Scotland and Northern Ireland are much tighter and we believe this should apply for the whole of the UK.
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“Cats who are shot with airguns can suffer horrific and often fatal injuries. We’ve heard of cats losing eyes, limbs and being left with life-changing injuries as a result of such attacks.
“Airguns are deadly weapons in the wrong hands and updating the laws relating to them is well overdue.”
Jacqui adds: “Cats seem to be the chosen victim. Maybe it’s because they are easier to shoot, especially if they are resting in someone’s garden.
“We seem to be reading about new cases in the Press every week.”
But until the Government acts, more beloved pets will be caught in the crosshairs of airgun maniacs.
Killers face prison
YOU can face up to six months in prison and an unlimited fine if you are found guilty of using an airgun to kill or injure an animal.
But in England and Wales you need no licence to own an airgun.
Anyone over 18 can buy these air weapons and ammunition. Those aged between 14 and 17 can borrow an air weapon and use it without supervision on land where they have permission.
Under-14s must be supervised by an adult, over 21.
In 2015 the Scottish Parliament, which has devolved powers around firearms licensing, introduced a system for licensing air weapons.
In order to get one you have to prove you have “good reason” for owning the weapon.
The Home Office announced it was going to review the law in England and Wales last year after a teenager tragically died after being accidentally shot in the neck with an airgun.
The death of 13-year-old Ben Wragge sparked the review after his local coroner in Suffolk wrote to the Government calling for a review of the current regulations controlling the use of airguns.
So far, nothing has been done.