Dear ___ ,

 

I'm contacting you to ask that you address the issue of animals being shot, maimed and killed with catapults on a daily basis across the country.

 

The culprits are often groups of teenagers who target the animals in local green spaces, lakes, and parks, using catapults to shoot them with stones, ball bearings, and nuts and bolts. They inflict painful injuries on their victims, which are often but not always large water birds such as swans and geese. 

 

When these incidents occur, a report is usually made to the police, but this is having little impact on the frequency of these incidents, with perpetrators often returning time and time again to the same community spaces to target animals.

 

It falls to already overworked animal rescue organisations to attempt to repair the damage and capture and treat these animals, usually with great difficulty. Catching these animals may take days or weeks and treating their wounds can result in vast veterinary bills. Many die from their injuries or suffer severe wounds, broken bones, and the loss of eyes or limbs. Baby animals lose their parents and are left orphaned, and swans beloved by the local community lose their lifelong mates. 

 

Enough is enough. Our parks and green spaces should be safe spaces where the community can enjoy nature. Not spaces where suffering is being inflicted on animals for entertainment inches away from children and families. 

 

We ask you to please take action on these issues, whether that means pursuing restrictions on the sale and carrying of catapults, increasing CCTV and patrols of green spaces, or implementing educational initiatives for young people in the community. 

 

Kind regards, 

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