Help Sitemap Home Skip Navigation Contact Us Disability Statement


Horse wounded in air gun attack

Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image

Published Date: 07 September 2007
A PRIZED carriage horse grazing in a field has been wounded in an air rifle attack. Police have launched a hunt for the gunman after a pellet was discovered embedded in the 12-year-old Dutch Friesian.
Owner Ian King, 68, from Cardrona, Peeblesshire, said: "I never imagined the horses would be at risk from being shot in their field."

Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 06 September 2007 9:04 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Airguns
 
1

The Forgotten Princess,

Blacksburg 07/09/2007 02:47:42

This is tragic! And it is an outrage! Who all is getting ahold of these air guns? And why?
Words by,
Great Granddaughter Bruce

2

,

07/09/2007 06:36:29
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason: Scotsman Import, Original comment id: 944395, Article id was mapped to record!
3

gregg,

edinburgh 07/09/2007 08:07:48

is the Scotsman planning to report every little airgun incident in order to keep 'airgun misuse' in high profile?

Unless Westminster gives Scotland the right to pass its own firearms legislation there will be no 'Ban'

4

DAR,

Scottish Borders 07/09/2007 09:29:52

As a responsible competition and sport airifle user I completely deplore this crime. I hope that the perpetrator is caught and the full weight of the Law that is available now in Scotland is used to sentence him. The courts can give five years in jail for firearms offences but as we regularly see this never happens. The question of a blanket ban would never arise if the Law was correctly upheld. Responsible users of airguns should not be penalised for the inadequacies of our Police and Court system.

5

Alistair Bishop,

The Real World 07/09/2007 09:36:49

Whilst I would never condone or belittle the misuse of any weapon to hurt either a human or an animal, you have to ask yourself whether the editor of the Scotsman may have been denied the chance of owning an air rifle when he was a child.

I can think of no other explanaton for his rabid anti-airgun stance, a stance which is quite apparent from the Scotsmans need to report every single instance of airgun misuse that happens.
I would expect this sort of reportage from the 'tabloids', not the Scotsman...perhaps it's trying to lure away readers of the Sun and Daily Record?

6

Mr K. Weddell,

Edinburgh 07/09/2007 10:06:11

When is the real problem going to be addressed, my air rifles manage to behave themselves in the house all day long without sneaking out and getting into trouble.
Why do we constantly see awareness programmes for drink driving, motorists jumping level crossings, motorcyclist awareness even kids are taught drug awareness in schools where pupils are shown what drugs look, smell, taste and the effects they cause and how to treat a 'friend' who overdoses! (Yet drugs are illegal substances)
Why cant there be an awareness campaign to highlight the dangers of airguns when misused, the majority of incidents are caused by minors who think there toys and point them at others heads, beacause this is what culture has taught them to do through films and current T.V. programmes.
Children should be taught at a young age to respect firearms and to grow up with confidence in that airguns are a tool to be enjoyed and not a toy to be abused. The only way to introduce safety is to install discipline and safe handling at an educational level.

Once again it's time that the courts got a grip and started handing out the guidlined sentences for airgun misuse and incidents, this is the only way to offer a real deterrent in future.

From what i can see the only increase has been fuelled by the constant innacurate reporting in all the papers, dont you realise that the more you highlight something and try to ban it you make it more desirable.

I dont see any other Inanimate objects on the front pages of the papers warranting a ban!

7

Miss Pixie,

Westminster, Md USA 07/09/2007 10:29:31

Misuse of ANY firearm, including an airgun, MUST be reported and brought to the publics attention!

##'s 3, 5, and especially 6: not every airgun owner acts responsibly as you do. The ones who act like total morons: THEY are the ones making it bad for you NOT the Scotsman!

8

DAR,

Scottish Borders 07/09/2007 10:39:45

Perhaps it is about time for the Scotsman to make an editorial investigation into the sentencing that has been handed down to criminals post 1997 and who have been found guilty of airgun and real handgun misuse. But that would not be sensationalist reporting or add fuel to a non-required ban. No, that would be factual and show that current laws are not being enforced and correct sentencing not handed out. Where is is deterrent to stop unlawful misuse. Why does the Scotsman not look into this aspect?

9

Allan(handofgod137),

07/09/2007 14:40:51

#3 Spot on, this is yet another example of the leftist media talking up non stories.

10

The Bish,

Glasgow 07/09/2007 15:50:54

First I must state how sorry i am to learn of the cowardly attack on a beautiful animal, but it isn't this that makes me despair so.
Why don't our political leaders, the police and judiciary, act to stamp out these violent crimes by full implementation of the existing laws and sentences available.
To expand on DAR's comment in his earlier post regarding sentencing, some of the penalties for misusing air guns are:
Possession with intent to injure or damage property; 14 years.
Using to resist arrest; 14 years.
Carrying with intent to commit a crime; 10 years.
Carrying a loaded air rifle without authority or reasonable excuse; 5 years.
Acquiring, possessing, or using within 5 years of release from a prison sentence of 3 months or over; 3 years.
A few sentences of this magnitude handed down to miscreants would soon put an end to such incidents.
What is to become of our society?
Are we to allow it to be dragged down to the lowest common denominator, and have the limits of our liberties defined by its worst elements?

11

Alexander Smith,

Dundee 07/09/2007 16:16:00

First, let me say that like all responsible airgun users, I do not condone this cowardly attack on the horse and hope it is O.K.

However, to Miss Pixie in post#7, I'd like to ask this;

Do you actually know any facts about airgun usage in the U.K. over and above the sensationalist claptrap you see in the tabloids?

Were it not for newspapers, including the Scotsman "glamourising" the handgun mentality of modern "yoof", I believe airgun crime would not be the problem the papers claim it is.

Given the histrionics that ensue in the papers over every single issue of an airgun "crime", you would think that a huge percentage of airgunners were homicidal maniacs.

Well nothing is further from the truth!

The facts are that airgun users are some of the most responsible people in the country and safety is their paramount belief.

Hunter Field Target is the fastest growing sport in the UK, at this time.

More people have been killed by trying 9 volt PP3 batteries on their tongue in the last 4 years than have been killed by airguns in the last 50 years.

More people are killed on Scotlands roads in 1.5 DAYS than have been killed by airguns in the last 50 YEARS.

I'm sorry Miss Pixie but why should I and many tens of thousands of responsible airgun users be tarred by the same brush as morons and idiots, who will continue to be morons and idiots, no matter what?

Sandy

12

Louie,

California 07/09/2007 19:31:39

Ok ..how about 3 years for even thinking of buying a pellet gun. We have the same problem here with cows and other farm animals being shot, with real guns, in the fields. The pattern points to bored, perhaps intoxicated, teenagers and young adults as culprits. You are not going to make the problem go away by banning pellet guns there. Its about complex anti-social behavior that starts at school, home or maybe even the pubs. Try there first.


 

Comment on this Story

 

In order to post comments you must Register or Sign In

 
 
RSS Feed of this article's comments
Delivery formats: RSS, Atom, Javascript & Email
 
  

 
 


Sister Newspapers:
Press Complaints Commission

This website and its associated newspaper adheres to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then contact the Editor by clicking here.

If you remain dissatisfied with the response provided then you can contact the PCC by clicking here.