Legal gun numbers shooting up

Published on Tuesday 27 May 2008 22:41

THE increasing popularity of deer stalking is behind a significant rise in the number of legally-held guns in Scotland, it emerged last night.

Figures released by the Scottish Government showed the number of such firearms has reached a ten-year high.

There are now 66,893 firearms held by 26,056 people and a further 133,940 shotguns held by 49,213 people. The statistics showed that the number of people owning guns had gone down while the number of guns had gone up.

The figures also showed that in 2007 there were 1,203 applications for a new firearms certificate – of which 99 per cent were approved.

Sergeant Dougie Roy, the firearms licensing sergeant with Lothian and Borders Police,

said: "There has been a huge increase in the number of people applying for the appropriate calibre for deer stalking.

"Deer are a huge problem in Scotland, so much so that they are almost out of control in some parts of the country. What you have now got is people who were target shooters going out on deer stalking courses, liking it and applying for the appropriate calibre weapons to do more of it."

However, the firearms' statistics, combined with a 6 per cent increase in the number of registered firearms dealers to 301 at the end of 2007, prompted Kenny MacAskill, the justice secretary, to call again for the law to be updated.

The Scottish Government recently hosted a summit on firearms – an area where legislation is reserved to Westminster – which was attended by police, shooting representatives and gun control campaigners.

Mr MacAskill said: "From police and gun control campaigners to shooting representatives the view was clear – we need to change the current mishmash of legislation that's been amended and extended over the last 40 years. I will keep calling on the UK government to either take action, or devolve the powers so that we can."

A Holyrood spokeswoman said Mr MacAskill wanted a review of the legislation to make the system more transparent for those holding legal guns and to make it harder for legal guns to fall into the wrong hands.