Gun laws v horses, please help

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sykokat

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The yard where we keep Beanie is having some issues with a man who owns a piece of land adjacent to us. The yard backs onto the back of his property and we share access of the track which leads to the paddocks at the top of the yard. His strip of land runs alongside this track. The hedge at the end of his land splits the paddocks and his bit. The issue is for sometime he has been what would seem to be deliberatley causing a nuisance to us and other horse owners. He has been out there with his shotgun and just randomly taking pot shots in his paddock towards to hedge at the end. He claims he can do as he pleases as it is his land and no one can tell him what to do. His kids will 'accidently on purpose' kick rugby balls at the people leading their horses as they walk by. If we say anything they go and tell the father and he will come around to the yard complaining. He has also allowed his kids and their friends to be loose with air rifles on and around the place. He will fire his shotgun right next to horses turned out and we have also been finding empty cartidges in our paddocks which do not belong to him but no one has ever actually caught him doing so. Two of the horses at the top are now so wound up that each time they are turned out they just gallop around and get themselves in a right state. If any of us say anything his reaction is to park one of his vehicles along the shared track to block our access. We have been polite to him as we have been asked to do so, have shown him respect, as we have been asked to do so but every now and again he starts up. It is commonly known that he hates the yard being there and has tried to purchase it several times but our YO will not sell. We don't think the answer to this is to move yards as this just gives him what he wants but we are sure that he can't just go around shooting like he does. Is there anyone on here that can advise us to where we stand ???? Sorry for essay but had to be this long to get the full picture across. xxCxx
 
Im not so clued up on the guns side, but im pretty sure they need a license to be holding one. So it might be worth looking into if he does have a license. But unfortunately I have no idea how to go about that, but im sure the others may have an idea.
Is there any way you can made a different route to the fields, without being so close to his property? More for the safety of you guys, rather than satisfying him,. :)

Nick.
 
The kids
It is againt the law for under 14s to be in possession of air rifles or the ammunition, even on their own land. After 14 they can use them on his on private land with permission, but must not fire outside of that land, which means the pellets must land inside his boundaries.
 
I'm not too good on gun law either although I thought there was something about not being able to fire a weapon in a manner which may endanger others, in other words him fireing in to the hedge and not knowing whats on the other side.

I would personally go to the police about it as they are usually pretty hot on gun laws especially since the the Moat killings earlier this year.

Good luck x
 
Contact the Police Firearms Licensing Dept. They will tell you the laws regarding your problem. They'll possibly also check that he does have a shotgun licence. However, shotgun licences are pretty easy to come by. You don't really need a reason to own one unlike owning rifles and bigger weapons. I used to work for Firearms Licensing myself but left over 4 years ago so am a bit rusty on the laws! I do believe he is to shoot in the direction away from livestock but again you'll have to clarify this with the Firearms Licensing Unit.
Sorry not really much help!
 
As someone else said, they should not be firing out of their land durisdiction so shotgun cases should not be found anywhere else except on his property. I think you need to talk to the Firearms Officer of the local Police Force and ask him to visit you so you can cover anything you are unhappy with and check that he has the right licences. At least if you do that and take advice from them, you will know whether you can accept the problems or whether it would be better to move even though, in that case, he's won and driven you out but better safe than sorry I think.
You won't be able to stop him shooting on his land so even if it winds the horses up, there is nothing you can do about that unless you can get the police to limit his available hours of shooting which I think will be hard for them to do unless you can prove he is being a danger to you.
Good luck, let us know how you get on.
 
Spot_the_Risk said:
I understand that you don't want to let him 'win', but in your situation, I'd be looking for a different yard.
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Me too I'm afraid. Gun law etc. is difficult. You need to video some stuff and keep a diary and then contact Police. You could contact the Police for info on gun law etc. anyway without disclosing the problem. The Yard needs to work together on this...

I take it there's no point in talking to him and explaining the problems he is causing. Really this should be the first approach I'm afraid, he may genuinely be unaware.
Involving Police can escalate the situation and in view of what you've written this sounds highly likely in your circumstances so easier to move yards.
 
Oh my goodness, how awful. I agree with other comments. Good luck and please let us know the outcome.
He sounds like a nutter, wanting to cause harm to the horses and the people at your yard, I think you're right, maybe his motive is to drive you all away so he can try and buy the land that the yard's on?
 
I wouldnt let him drive you away unless it escalates, since that just leads to YO losing their business, which would be very unfair, but I certainly think a quiet word with the police would be wise. They take a very dim view these days of anyone using firearms in anything other than a whiter than white fashion, and when the licence needs renewing they will bear this in mind.

If you find further cartridges on your land, esp close to the horses or quite a way from his boundary, I would ask the police to fingerprint them to see if they are him. They may or may not agree but it puts the onus on the police then to be actively monitoring him.

As far as the kid goes, if they are using the airgun recklessly then the police may be able to confiscate it.
 
If there are sufficient complaints regarding intimidation, I should think his firearm licence is unlikely to be renewed the next time it is up for renewal. So, each time he does something untoward everyone should make a point to notify the police.

OH seems to think that air rifles cannot be used within 50m of their property boundary, so if they are closer than that then you will have cause for complaint.

Good luck, horrible situation to be in.
 
we hold shoots on our land , and carried out in the fields next to my horse fields, thankfully mine do not bother at all , but i would say he is breaking the law shooting towards the field hedge as your horses are in it .
 
I agree with the other posts.

What a horrible man.

Even if he has got a license for his guns, he should be reported to relevant licensing authority for his mis-use of them. :mad:
 
Call the police on the general enquiries number. Tell them what you've told us and I'm certain they will pay him a visit. If you can get some photos or video him doing it then that would be good. If he has a license he won't be getting it renewed if the police have had to get involved.

Or - if you are there while he's doing it, or his kids are running around with the air rifles - call 999. You have every reason to.

Then phone the Council and tell them there is a man purposefully blocking a Bridleway.

Good luck!
 
Your YO should be dealing with this, if she loses her liveries because of it then it is her own fault for not taking action! I would complain to environmental health for noise nuisance, speak to the police and tell them he (and his children) intimidate you with their guns. Your YO needs to look into the details of the shared access and take legal action with regards to him blocking your access. I would possibly also try Defra, with regard to the upset he is causing your animals, I am sure there will be something somewhere that says you cannot do that.
 
My understanding is that you are not allowed to fire a gun within 100 yards of the boundry of your land (or that land on which the shoot is hosted.)

With guns the answer is always the police.

Bx
 
Thank you for all the replies. Yes his idea seems tp try to drive us all away to leave him free to buy the land. He has already tried to do so. He is an ignorant swine and rude with it. Moving yards is the last thing we want to do as it is really close to home, very affordable and have the help we need. Beanie is really settled and fortunately not one of the ones affected by his actions. We will now be calling the police if we see/hear him or his kids shooting again. We wont speak to him or warn him of our intentions. Just let them turn up and see what happens. Cxxx
 
Thistle said:
I think it's 15m but always parallel or away from the boundary. All shot must land on your property.
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We had a similar problem at one place. We were stuffed because the law then was no shooting within XXXmeteres of a public highway/byway and our boundry didn't include a public right of way. Not allowed to shoot over our land but shooting into the hedge was allowed!:confused:

Do keep a diary as we were advised by the Police to do this also if there is danger call the police immediately as often as is necessary. The YO really has to take this on as has been said.
 
Had a very similar situation with a gamekeeper - he would shoot on purpose to make the horses bolt - which was pretty dangerous and when asked (very politely) whether he could be more awRe of the horses he said no he was well within his rights and would do whY he damn well pleased.

I contacted the police on their Advice line and they were brilliant. They saw him and explained we weren't being moaning minies but he was genuinely causing us danger and if there was an incident he could be held liable and they could take any complaints into account with regard to withdrawing his gun licence.

So my advice would be to ring the advice line and see what happens. If they don 't respond adequately write to the by recorded post and log/video etc all incidents.

The most important thing though is to talk to the man and don't loose your temper however riled he may be. You must also ask him what particularly irritates him about your behavious and how you may moderate it to make his live easier - if you can't talk write but definitely give him a chance to expresss his views - if they are irrational he will be embarrassed to articulate and I bet will change his behavious!!
 
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