The manager of the RSPCA wildlife centre in Nantwich says they are now seeing up to 70 airgun incidents every year.
Lee Stewart said he was “appalled” at the scale of airgun injuries suffered by animals who come into his Stapeley Grange centre in London Road.
He spoke after the latest incident in which a heron died after being targeted with airgun.
X-rays revealed two pellets lodged in the bird which was left with a shattered wing.
Despite the bird making some recovery after one of the pellets was removed at a centre in St Helens, it died several dies after surgery at Stapeley Grange to mend its wing.
Lee Stewart said: “We typically see between 50 and 70 airgun incidents every year including birds like swans, geese, ducks, birds of prey and pigeons as well badgers, foxes and squirrels.
“Sadly, many do not make it. Herons, as in this case, are also easy targets.
“They are not a straightforward species to manage in captivity as they get easily stressed and can be dangerous for our team to work with.
“We’re appalled that people take pleasure from cruelly and deliberately targeting wild and domestic animals in this way but sadly these types of incidents are not uncommon.
“We believe the numbers we hear about only show part of the problem as not all cases will be reported to us directly and there may be situations where animals injured and killed by these weapons are sadly never found – especially in the case of wildlife.”
In England and Wales – all wild birds, their young, nests and eggs are protected under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981.
The RSPCA says it sees a rise in the number of attacks on animals in the summer when the days are longer and people are outside more.
The charity is continuing to call for stricter regulations around owning an airgun in both England and Wales.
Better education, basic safety training for owners and a thorough explanation of the law – including our legal obligations towards animals – could help protect countless animals from such attacks in the future.
To support the ongoing work of Stapeley Grange’s wildlife hospital, donate to the Wildlife JustGiving site.
Obviously banning guns has been a huge success in this country 🙄
The ownership of air weapons should follow the same laws as for other firearms. A change to the law is far overdue and there should be strict controls. licensing and checks on ownership.
Looks like the poor heron got caught out stealing pet goldfish from someone’s garden pond