Second Protest to End Catapult Cruelty in Priory Gardens

Keep shouting, even if your voice gets hoarse...

That was the message from yesterday’s march through Orpington, as locals, rescue volunteers, councillors, and people from all over came together to make their voices heard.

Together, we stood to demand action for the animals being killed, maimed and tortured in Priory Gardens and across South East London. We are incredibly grateful to every single person who showed up.

The night before the protest, many of us were confronted with a truly horrific incident. A pet was shot with a catapult locally, and as he lay horribly injured, he was subjected to prolonged abuse and torture. I can’t go into detail about this right now - but it was deeply disturbing.

This is not “boys being boys”. The level of brutality, and the complete absence of empathy, is deeply concerning. That children are capable of this - and that it is happening repeatedly in our communities - should alarm everyone.

What began as a handful of people raising concerns has grown into something much bigger: a campaign built by people refusing to accept that animals can be tortured in public parks without consequence.

And it is being heard.

In recent weeks alone, we have seen:

* Thousands of accounts sharing catapult-based animal cruelty content removed from TikTok

* Catapults removed from sale on Gumtree

* A surge in public awareness and pressure that simply wasn’t there before

* An MP drop-in event, an Early Day Motion, and an upcoming Parliamentary roundtable on catapult regulation

Yesterday we were also joined by Councillor Kim Botting, who attended and read a statement on behalf of Gareth Bacon MP for Orpington.

Things are starting to move - and that is down to sustained public pressure.

Now the key is persistence. Keeping this momentum going.

We are demanding:

* Proper regulation of catapults, which are weapons capable of causing catastrophic injury, not toys for children

* Real resources to be allocated to investigating wildlife crime and animal cruelty, and prosecuting offenders

* Early intervention and education for young people engaging in acts of cruelty, before it escalates further

• 

• 

• 

• 

We should not have to fight this hard for something so basic.

So keep shouting - even until your voice is hoarse, even when you feel like you have nothing left - because if you shout long enough, others will join you.