UK Catapult Laws

[Emdiesse]

What are the laws regarding catapults in the UK (slingshots)?

[innocent bystander]

I am amazed this link works, but there is a bit here :

http://www.bushcraftuk.co.uk/articles/knife_law.html

[Emdiesse]

So, if someone asks me why i have it and i say:

"I am using it for purpose of killing grey squirrels for the purpose of feeding licensed wild birds", then i am ok?

[innocent bystander]

I doubt it. I reckon you may get banged up !! Probably depends on context - if you were in the middle of town, it would be an offensive weapon. In the midle of nowhere, who knows ...

[Emdiesse]

in the country side. I wouldn't even think of using a catapult in the middle of town, lol.

What about on your own property or on private property of which you have permission from the land owner?

What are the laws regarding being on your own property or on someone elses with permission, not just regarding catapults, but anything?

Thanks

[Danzo]

Hi Emdiesse

Catapults are not illegal in Britain but if used or carried as a weapon they become illegal. You don't have to justify why you are carrying one but in town a police officer is likely to be suspicious. In the countryside it's going to be rather different, even in a public access wood or moorland area, as using one for target practice or even hunting is legal

On private property, your own or anyone elses, you are perfectly OK.

Providing you are on someone elses property with their permission!

Hope that helps.

Danzo

[innocent bystander]

I'm wondering why it's legal to hun with a cattie, but not with a bow'n'arra..... ?
Probably some ancient by law or something, stop the peaseants uprising maybe ?

[Ed]

I'm wondering why it's legal to hun with a cattie, but not with a bow'n'arra..... ?

Within the UK it is illegal to hunt with a bow..... It says so in the law

You can find the relavant law in the wildlife and countryside act 1981.

Section 11 prohibits the use of self-locking snares, bows, explosives or use of live mammals or birds as decoys, for capture and killing of any wild animal.

Its pretty specific and no mention of catapults......

Ed

[Great Pebble]

Hmm... I wonder what excatly defines a slingshot and what defines a bow?

[Emdiesse]

OK. The reason i am asking this, is because the other day me and my friend went out to the countryside with our catapults. Never have managed to hit anything yet, but its just good fun , alot of the time we have little target practice competitions against each other.

However, when i was on my way out, my dad said to me to be careful because if i'm caught with it i could be prosecuted.

So, if you are in the country using it for hunting/target practice you are ok?

[innocent bystander]

Within the UK it is illegal to hunt with a bow.

You can find the relavant law in the wildlife and countryside act 1981.

.

Ed

Yes, but why the bow and not the cattie ? Not that i'm bothered though...

[pumbaa]

As far as i am aware its more the projectile that they are worried about . if you caught a rabbit with an arrow or bolt it is going to be severly restricted by having an arrow lodged through it ! but with a pellet or ballbering at least it can retreat to its burrow .

Personaly i think it is likely to die either way (depending where you hit it) and the arrows have the bonus of not letting it run of through the gorse bushes , so at least you bag your catch .

Pumbaa

[Ed]

ok... as this thread is talking about hunting and killing vermin etc I'm moving it over to fair game

Yes, but why the bow and not the cattie ? Not that i'm bothered though...

I think that the use of the catapult to hunt has been kept legal as it is used as a method of vermin control.... unlike the bow which is a true hunting weapon (or sport).

Ed

[Eric_Methven]

Taking a few rabbits or squirrel is neither here or there to the powers that be. The difference comes down to shooting deer and sheep and other high value meat animals. If bow hunting were legal, plenty sheep would get whacked to fill the old freezer. Try doing a sheep with a catupult - probably wouldn't even feel it. Maybe you'd **** the deer off by whacking a ball bearing off it's bum but you wouldn't kill it. Maybe that's why bow hunting is illegal and catapult hunting isn't.

Eric

[Neiltoo]

Within the UK it is illegal to hunt with a bow..... It says so in the law

You can find the relavant law in the wildlife and countryside act 1981.


Its pretty specific and no mention of catapults......

Ed

The wild life and countryside act doesnt extend to N. Ireland or the Channel islands - does anyone know what the law is there ( its daft- either the UK is all one country or it isnt - why do all the bits have to have different laws - daft I tell you

[giancarlo]

Not 100% sure what the laws are in Jersey... but i'm guessing they could be different to the UK ones... they mainly pick and chose which ones they want to enforce over here...

I might try and find out about Jersey ones.. although i'm guessing, Guernsey and the other islands have a different set of laws too

[Neiltoo]

I eventually found The Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 online - they dont make these things easy to find and as for translating them !!!
As for the rest of the UK it seems to prohibit everything except a firearm. It mentions a bow or a spear by name and seems to exclude everything else as well

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part, if any person—

(a) sets in position any self-locking snare which is of such a nature and so placed as to be calculated to cause bodily injury to any wild animal coming into contact therewith;

(b) uses for the purpose of killing or taking any wild animal any self-locking snare, whether or not of such a nature or so placed as aforesaid, any missile which is not discharged from a firearm, including in particular any arrow or spear, or any explosive other than ammunition for a firearm; or

(c) uses as a decoy, for the purpose of killing or taking any wild animal, any sound recording or any live mammal or bird whatever,

he shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Part and to those of Article 20, if any person—

(a) sets in position any of the following articles, being an article which is of such a nature and so placed as to be calculated to cause bodily injury to any wild animal included in Schedule 6 which comes into contact therewith, that is to say, any springe, trap, gin, snare, hook and line, any electrical device for killing or stunning or any poisonous, poisoned or stupefying substance or muscle-relaxing agent;

(b) uses for the purpose of killing or taking any such wild animal any such article as aforesaid, whether or not of such a nature and so placed as aforesaid, or any net;

(c) uses for the purpose of killing or taking any such wild animal—

(i) any automatic or semi-automatic weapon;

(ii) any metal bar, axe, hatchet, cudgel, club, hammer or similar instrument;

(iii) any device for illuminating a target or any sighting device for night shooting;

(iv) any form of artificial light or any mirror or other dazzling device; or

(v) any gas or smoke not falling within sub-paragraphs (a) and (b); or


(d) uses any mechanically propelled vehicle in immediate pursuit of any such wild animal for the purpose of driving, killing or taking that animal,

he shall be guilty of an offence.


Oops - just noticed that the act is subject to copyright restrictions -
So its an offence to contravene the act but its also an offence to copy any part of the act in order to tell someone else about whats in the act.

I always did like Monty Python

[bambodoggy]

if you caught a rabbit with an arrow or bolt it is going to be severly restricted by having an arrow lodged through it ! but with a pellet or ballbering at least it can retreat to its burrow .Pumbaa

and this is a good thing???? Peter and Jessica Rabbit get to die in slow agonising pain in their burrow as opposed to being humanely euthanised by the happy hunter? who the heck makes these mad laws.....? ? ?
Most likely the same ones that say it's ok to snare a rabbit so long as the snare doesn't lock and the animal (now trumatised and injured from trying to escape) can give it the old hoodiini once in a while whilest it's illegal to use a locking snare that will hold the animal there until the hunter can euthanise it when he next checks his traps...buy law once a day (for non locking snares....gotta give bunny time to get his handcuff off) but in practice done by most trappers at least twice or more in a day to ensure the minimum of suffering timewise for his/her pray.

We have to stick to the Law...in all things we do and this is right and proper...but the law can be madness itself sometimes too lol

Stay safe and legal out there boys and girls

Neiltoo, the way I read the NI act you've quoted it means "any missile which is not discharged from a firearm", while used "for the purpose of killing or taking any wild animal", as opposed to anything that fires anything from anything...otherwise a staplegun would also be included...along with plently of kids toys...bb guns, air guns etc. Danzo should be able to confirm that but I'd be suprised if that wasn't the case.
So it would be legal to carry it for target practice but not to hunt with.

Cheers,

Bam.

[BIG-TARGET]

Just remember the old NJ saying:"You're not guilty of a crime, you're just guilty of being caught!!!!"

[bambodoggy]

Just remember the old NJ saying:"You're not guilty of a crime, you're just guilty of being caught!!!!"

Lol...isn't it only Criminals that say that?? ?? lol

[BIG-TARGET]

Here in NJ, everytime they pass a law, they turn more innocent people into criminals

[stotRE]

Its better to beg for forgivness than to ask permission. lol

[BIG-TARGET]

Its better to beg for forgivness than to ask permission. lol

You got it!!!!

[Neiltoo]

Neiltoo, the way I read the NI act you've quoted it means "any missile which is not discharged from a firearm", while used "for the purpose of killing or taking any wild animal", as opposed to anything that fires anything from anything...otherwise a staplegun would also be included...along with plently of kids toys...bb guns, air guns etc. Danzo should be able to confirm that but I'd be suprised if that wasn't the case.
So it would be legal to carry it for target practice but not to hunt with.

Cheers,

Bam.

The way I read this which is maybe what you are saying is that you cant kill any wild animal unless you use a firearm.
Its funny but I cant find any exception that would cover a mouse trap for example !

[bambodoggy]

The way I read this which is maybe what you are saying is that you cant kill any wild animal unless you use a firearm.
Its funny but I cant find any exception that would cover a mouse trap for example !

Not quite, I'm saying what the law says, that you can't kill a wild animal with some types of missile (namely any that don't come out of a firearm)... remember the Act in which we are working is the wildlife act and as such is wildlife related, it isn't a public order act or firearms act or similar and so isn't dealing with what we can and can't carry in public, only with the fact that we can't use certain weapons (or traps) to kill wild animals and that those weapons we can use (firearms etc) can only be used on certain wild animals (namely those not listed in Schedule 6).

You can use a non-locking snare to catch/kill a bunny as rabbits are't listed in Schedule 6 and if it's not dead when you get there you can club it to death with a stick. You can lay poison for rats etc but the act is saying that if you do this knowing you may harm animals listed on Schedule 6 then you are guilty of an offence, whether by laying the poison near a Schedule 6 listed animals feeding ground that happens to be where you're rats are living too or by laying your snare incorrectly so that it is likely to catch a schedule 6 listed animal even though you set it out for the purpose of bagging a non schedule 6 animal. Always remember that ignorance of the law is no defence and that our law is based on reason, so in court if they find that you didn't take "reasonable" care when laying your (perfectly legal) non-locking snare and it did catch a schedule 6 listed animal by "mistake", then you are still guilty of an offence.

Mouse traps (or poison for that matter) are not missiles so I would say that in itself was the exeption.....

I've been thinking about this too and a ballbearing isn't a missile either, it's a projectile and that's different to a missle and the wording on the Act is fairly specific so you might be ok using it to hunt with after all....having said that it's still best to check with whomever to confirm before you head out with your rubber bands...

Hope that helps clarify and hasn't just made you more confused Matey...lol

[R-Bowskill]

And the reason why quiet means of taking game are generally banned in the UK is that they are simply too good and cheap so the peasants can get free food without the lord knowing about it. Guess which section of society makes the laws??? you got it, definately not bushcrafters.

[bambodoggy]

I can't remember who it was but on another bcuk thread about bow hunting somebody mentioned that part of the reason it was outlawed was that when they had the debate and vote in parliment, the MP that was due to stand and speak up for hunting with bows had nipped to the loo and missed his spot so the vote went ahead without any pros being mentioned and it got banned!!!!

I don't know how true that is but it doesn't suprise me one bit..lol

[Celtic Dragon]

I think the reason for bow hunting being banned is tied up with them being used for poaching the royal deer.

[Neiltoo]

Hope that helps clarify and hasn't just made you more confused Matey...lol

No, that makes alot of sense - I think I was reading with my blinkers on

Thanks

[innocent bystander]

I can't remember who it was but on another bcuk thread about bow hunting somebody mentioned that part of the reason it was outlawed was that when they had the debate and vote in parliment, the MP that was due to stand and speak up for hunting with bows had nipped to the loo and missed his spot so the vote went ahead without any pros being mentioned and it got banned!!!!

I don't know how true that is but it doesn't suprise me one bit..lol

It's semi-true, but I'm sure it wasn't about bow hunting. Damned if i can remember what it was, but it was mentioned on telly last year. Apparently the debate went on all night, and the one person in favour went for a slash just before the vote....