‘The owners of a golf course in Hampshire have apologised after a pet dog was apparently mistaken for a rabbit by pest controllers and shot dead’. [Online at]
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-24026212
I struggle to believe that this poor mans beloved dog was shot by mistake and that the apology does not seem somewhat justifiable by any stretch of the imagination.
This dog was shot and killed inhumanely, as the owner of the dog himself actually had to bear hearing his dog suffer. Therefore that constitutes as an inhumane and somewhat callous act! Even if there proves to be any such lawful reasoning of this murder that surely must question the integrity and moral fibre of those who could even suggest such a thought! By what measure and means does ‘pest control’ on a golf course need gun licenses? There is no livestock in need of protecting? Surely there is a humane way to deal with rabbits and hare rather than shoot them and hope that the shot doesn’t scratch the pristine grasses of the course? Along with that why is ‘pest control’ conducting culls during the night whereby under section 14.57, it is prohibited? Furthermore why is the Metropolitan Police Service issuing firearm licenses to persons that cannot tell the difference between what they are supposed to be aiming and shooting at? Therefore they must be considered dangerous and a liability to the public and to their own work force!
Demand that those responsible are held accountable and deliver more than an apology to Mr J. Kirby. Along with that the Marriott and Meon Valley Golf Course should reconsider their use of firearms amongst their employees and should be dealt with according to law by Hampshire Constabulary. Furthermore the Metropolitan Police Service should reconsider issuing firearm licenses to those that blatantly ignore the law and have little if any such grounds to be warranted a license to posess and use firearms!
Below are sections from the Home Office, Guide on Firearms Licensing Law published July 2013.
'Dogs 14.60
Section 9 of the Animals Act 1971 provides a defence for killing or injuring a dog if the defendant acted to protect livestock, and subsequently informs the police within forty-eight hours of the incident. The defendant can only act in defence of livestock in such a way if the livestock, or the land on which it is, belongs to them or to any other person under whose express or implied authority they are acting.
Night Shooting of Ground Game
14.57 The relevant provisions are:
England and Wales
The use of firearms at night for shooting ground game is prohibited under section 6 of the Ground Game Act 1880 – night-time is between the expiration of the first hour after sunset and the last hour before sunrise.’ [Online at]
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/224599/Guide_on_Firearms_Licensing_Law_2012-13_chapter_14_WEB.PDF
