Government targets much stricter shotgun licence controls

Tougher licensing measures for shotgun certificate holders could see further price hikes, shotguns having to be kept off farm, and many shotgun owners giving up licences altogether.

A new consultation is due to take place later this year on aligning controls on shotguns with other firearms, after the Labour government determined they were no less lethal than other firearms.

Both individuals and organisations will be able to feed into the consultation when it is launched to make their views heard.

See also: Gun licence holders told not to avoid mental health support

The results of an earlier consultation, which took place under the previous Conservative government, were published this month.

However, it did not cover aligning shotgun and firearms controls due to their “important uses in farming and in leisure pursuits”.

Labour’s response to this consultation, published on Thursday (13 February), noted that some concerns had been raised by law enforcement bodies about the need for further controls to “increase public safety” and the risks associated with shotguns being kept in people’s homes.

Tough restrictions

Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, said: “There is a clear statement of direction here by the government on what it wants to do.”

Mr Bonner told Farmers Weekly that to hold a firearms licence, you have to be able to show good reason and each gun is licensed individually.

He said there are also restrictions on the amount of ammunition you can buy, and there can be additional conditions on security.

“They could say that you have to keep your guns with a gun club or registered firearms dealer.

“In practical terms, that means a lot of people are going to take a view on whether they can continue to justify keeping a shotgun.”

Mr Bonner suggested there were factions of government who wanted to make gun ownership as strict, bureaucratic and expensive as possible, in order to reduce the number of people who can own a gun.

Bill Harriman, director of firearms at the British Association of Shooting and Conservation, called the announcement of a further consultation a deeply concerning move that fundamentally undermined the principles of fairness and due process.

He said: “At a time when the firearms licensing system is already struggling under the weight of inefficiency and inconsistency, this does nothing to improve public safety.”

Further hike in costs

Both firearms and shotgun licence fees in England were increased on 5 February, after new legislation was passed to ensure “full cost recovery” of charges associated with gun ownership.

Firearms certificate grants saw a 125% increase from £88 to £198, while shotgun certificates were hit by a 144% increase from £79.50 to £194.

If shotgun licences are aligned with firearms, there are expectations that costs could increase further due to increased time requirements for processing by police departments.

Mr Bonner added: “If you are then asking them to license every gun rather than every certificate holder, that becomes a huge burden.

“We have just seen a huge hike in the cost of renewals that’s based on full cost recovery.

“If you’re putting this additional burden on licensing authorities, presumably that is going to pass back, so we could see another hike in fees.”