Shot and killed with an air rifle in his paddock

If I were the owner of any of the other horses there I would not be leaving them there. Poor yard owner too! Something like that could kill off the livery. RIP Ghost. Poor horse.
 
I saw that on facebook last night - horrendous. And he had been shot in other places too so it sounds like he was used as rifle practice before being killed. I cannot imagine how awful it would be to find this had happened to your horse. A shot through the head would be too good for whoever did this.
 
cobgoblin said:
Perhaps it's time for some controls on air rifles.
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I agree. Air rifles have become more and more powerful in recent years. The ones I came across in my younger years were not capable of killing anything bigger than a rat. If they can kill a horse they can kill a person even easier.
 
We had an incident a couple of years back with young(ish) lads from a certain group shooting high velocity air rifles in our paddocks. 2 horses were hit - thank god not fatally - and one livery (human) was shot at in her car. Another owner and I grabbed all the geldings in - thankfully they were scared enough to run toward us for help so it was quite simple. We had the helicopters out, firearms response teams etc. Didn't catch anyone - but in the chase 2 of the rifles were dumped which I suppose is a bit of a positive.

I do very much hope someone is caught and prosecuted for this - but the sad reality is they probably won't be.

What a world we live in....
 
I've always said it is ludicrous air rifles are not banned. I see parents buying their 8yos rifles and thinking it's a good toy. How is a GUN ever a good toy?!
 
You've needed a license for an air rifle since the end of last year - definately in Scotland, not sure about England, but plenty of folk have not bothered to get one :(
 
As he was the only horse in the herd attacked it suggests that maybe it was a grudge/revenge incident which is no less awful for the horse or owner but would still indicate that random attacks on animals remain rare.
 
millikins said:
As he was the only horse in the herd attacked it suggests that maybe it was a grudge/revenge incident which is no less awful for the horse or owner but would still indicate that random attacks on animals remain rare.
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I wondered that - but he was spotty so maybe he just stood out more than the others. Poor horse, poor owner - I'd be devastated.
 
Wagtail said:
I agree. Air rifles have become more and more powerful in recent years. The ones I came across in my younger years were not capable of killing anything bigger than a rat. If they can kill a horse they can kill a person even easier.
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The rules on Air rifles havent changed so they are not getting more powerful . Theres still a power limit above which you need a full FA licence which are not easy to get .A shot in the eye is the only logical place you could ever kill a horse with an air rifle.
 
popsdosh said:
The rules on Air rifles havent changed so they are not getting more powerful . Theres still a power limit above which you need a full FA licence which are not easy to get .A shot in the eye is the only logical place you could ever kill a horse with an air rifle.
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I agree with Popsdosh, to kill an animal with an air rifle would be very hard, unless the rifle was an unlicensed firearm strength air rifle.

All standard air rifles are limited to 12ft llbs power output, anything over this power is required by law to be on a firearms certificate. You will find this shooting is being discussed with horror on the airgun shooting community forums and I am sure that all well behaved responsible airgun users are equally as horrified as poors Ghosts owner and readers of this forum. There are estimated to be over 6 million airguns currently in the UK and like most gun related sports, the users are responsible and safety conscious to the extreme. It is a sad reflection of our current society,that some people find it acceptable to commit criminal and vicious acts against animals and humans for that matter. I hope that the perpetrators of this despicable act are caught and have the full weight of the law brought down on them. You can be sure that any responsible gun user would wish the same. Sad times.
 
About 20 years ago I knew of a horse which was shot (and later died) by an air rifle. He was taken to the Dick vet which is the top place in Scotland and it took them quite a while to find out what was actually wrong with him as it was such a tiny hole (but catastrophic internally). Never forgotten it.

It was into the stomach which killed him incidentally.
 
TheEngineer said:
I agree with Popsdosh, to kill an animal with an air rifle would be very hard, unless the rifle was an unlicensed firearm strength air rifle.

All standard air rifles are limited to 12ft llbs power output, anything over this power is required by law to be on a firearms certificate. You will find this shooting is being discussed with horror on the airgun shooting community forums and I am sure that all well behaved responsible airgun users are equally as horrified as poors Ghosts owner and readers of this forum. There are estimated to be over 6 million airguns currently in the UK and like most gun related sports, the users are responsible and safety conscious to the extreme. It is a sad reflection of our current society,that some people find it acceptable to commit criminal and vicious acts against animals and humans for that matter. I hope that the perpetrators of this despicable act are caught and have the full weight of the law brought down on them. You can be sure that any responsible gun user would wish the same. Sad times.
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Totally agree .
 
FfionWinnie said:
About 20 years ago I knew of a horse which was shot (and later died) by an air rifle. He was taken to the Dick vet which is the top place in Scotland and it took them quite a while to find out what was actually wrong with him as it was such a tiny hole (but catastrophic internally). Never forgotten it.

It was into the stomach which killed him incidentally.
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I remember this!
 
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