Labour plans to strengthen controls on shotguns will 'cripple the countryside' says South Shropshire MP
Stuart Anderson MP has raised concerns about Government plans to strengthen controls on shotguns, which he has said will "cripple the countryside".
A Government consultation is soon expected to seek views on aligning shotgun and rifle controls under the 1968 Firearms Act.
Laws have distinguished shotguns from other firearms since legislation was introduced in 1920, but a change could see the merging of shotgun (Section 2) and firearm (Section 1) licensing systems.
Under the current system, owners of long-barrelled shotguns with a capacity to hold a maximum of three cartridges are required to hold shotgun certificates.
Owners are required to demonstrate a good reason for needing a shotgun and to undergo background checks on their character and medical requirements.
But South Shropshire MP Stuart Anderson has said that making shotguns subject to rifle-like regulations, which require a licence for each weapon, would negatively impact their legitimate use in farming and managing the countryside.
A petition against the plans has gained 115,310 signatures. The petition warns that merging licences would "create delays, higher costs, and bureaucracy without improving public safety".
Mr Anderson said: "Government plans to restrict shotgun ownership by aligning the licensing of shotguns with firearms like rifles would have far-reaching negative consequences that will cripple the countryside.
"Additional controls on shotguns would negatively impact their legitimate use in farming and managing the countryside.
"Labour's plan follows licensing fee increases, which only adds insult to injury for hard-working people in rural communities like our farmers, gamekeepers, and veterinarians.
"Police forces who are already overstretched in many areas would be put under more pressure and the rural economy would take a huge hit with thousands of jobs at risk."
