Amnesty will help save pets
Apr 2 2003
By Tony Barrett Echo Reporter
MERSEYSIDE police's gun amnesty was today backed by the RSPCA.
Any illegally held weapons or ammunition can be handed in to the police without fear of prosecution under the government initiative.
It is also an opportunity to surrender lawfully held guns and ammunition no longer wanted, such as air guns and replica weapons.
New firearms legislation is expected to be introduced with the government pledging to crackdown on gun crime.
The RSPCA has been campaigning for tougher legislation on air guns following a number of attacks on pets and wildlife.
The society believes youths are behind the majority of attacks, given the staggering rise in incidents reported during school holidays or as the evenings get lighter.
Bill Cottingham, RSPCA north west superintendent, said: "The national firearms amnesty is an initiative by a government which has also announced its commitment to ban unsupervised use of air weapons by anyone younger than 17."
In 2002 the RSPCA dealt with about 900 air weapon attacks on pets and wildlife in England and Wales.
The amnesty runs until Wednesday April 30 and guns and replica weapons can be handed in at police stations throughout the area as part of the national purge on gun crime.
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