Target: Emma Reynolds MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom
Goal: Establish a minimum purchase age of 18 for catapults and slingshots to stop children from using them to injure and kill wildlife for social media content.
A disturbing trend has emerged across the United Kingdom in which pigeons and other wildlife are being injured and killed by catapults — with young people allegedly filming the attacks and sharing the footage on social media platforms including TikTok. Over a four-week period, a wildlife rehabilitation centre in Gloucestershire received at least two pigeons with injuries consistent with catapult attacks — one of which died despite receiving £142.50 worth of veterinary treatment, while another arrived with a neck wound after a witness reportedly saw it struck by a group of children. Wildlife rescue centres across the UK are continuing to record a rise in animals harmed and killed by catapults and crossbows, with swans, birds, and domestic pets among the victims.
Catapults are entirely unregulated in England and Wales — there is no minimum age for purchase, no controls on sale, and no restrictions on power. This means children can freely obtain weapons capable of killing wildlife with no legal barrier whatsoever. The attacks are part of what animal welfare organisations describe as a “troubling” social media trend in which young people allegedly film themselves harming wildlife and post the footage online for views. One pigeon was found grounded with an infected wound consistent with being shot; another was allegedly struck in the neck by a group of children in a public area in broad daylight. Organisations warn that officially recorded cases likely represent only a fraction of actual incidents, as attacks are logged only when the cause can be confirmed with certainty.
Catapults are not classified as prohibited weapons under current UK law, leaving wildlife entirely unprotected from their deliberate misuse. Animal welfare organizations have already presented growing evidence to MPs of catapults being deliberately misused to injure and kill wildlife — yet no regulatory action has been taken. Establishing a minimum purchase age of 18 is a straightforward, enforceable measure that would meaningfully reduce children’s access to these weapons and protect vulnerable wildlife from senseless cruelty. Demand that the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs act now to regulate the sale of catapults and slingshots before more animals are killed.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Emma Reynolds MP,
We are writing with urgent concern about a growing and deeply troubling trend in which catapults and slingshots are reportedly being used by young people to injure and kill wildlife — with attacks allegedly filmed and shared on social media platforms. Over a four-week period alone, a single wildlife rehabilitation centre in Gloucestershire received two pigeons with injuries consistent with catapult attacks. One died despite veterinary treatment. The other was allegedly struck in the neck by a group of children in a public space. Animal welfare organisations warn that recorded cases represent only a fraction of actual incidents.
We are gravely concerned that catapults remain entirely unregulated in England and Wales, with no minimum purchase age, no sale restrictions, and no controls on power. This regulatory vacuum is allegedly enabling children to obtain and misuse weapons capable of killing wildlife, while a social media trend reportedly incentivises the filming and sharing of such attacks for online attention. Naturewatch Foundation has already presented evidence of this growing crisis to MPs — yet no legislative response has followed.
We respectfully demand that your office immediately introduce a minimum purchase age of 18 for catapults and slingshots, work with retailers to prevent online sales to minors, and consider further regulatory measures to prevent the deliberate misuse of these weapons against wildlife. Pigeons, swans, and domestic pets are paying with their lives for a regulatory failure that is entirely within your power to correct. We urge you to act now.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Sundaramoorthy K
