Animal welfare campaigners are raising concerns over a significant increase in catapult attacks targeting wildlife across the UK. New leaflets distributed in affected communities reveal the brutal injuries and fatalities suffered by birds and mammals in residential neighbourhoods nationwide.
The Greenwich Wildlife Network is at the forefront of this campaign, exposing the damage caused by metal ball bearings and other high-speed projectiles fired from handheld catapults. Victims often include pigeons and waterfowl, which sustain catastrophic and frequently fatal wounds.
WARNING: The campaign materials include graphic images of injured animals to highlight the severity of the issue.
Leaflets titled ‘End Catapult Cruelty’ have been circulated widely in areas identified as recurring hotspots for these attacks. These leaflets feature graphic photographs of wounded wildlife alongside recovered ammunition believed to have been fired from catapults. Campaigners emphasise that these incidents are not isolated events but part of a disturbing pattern of abuse against urban wildlife.
The campaign stresses that firing catapults at wild animals is a criminal offence under both the Wildlife and Countryside Act and the Animal Welfare Act. Police forces are urging residents to take these attacks seriously and to report any incidents immediately.
If you witness a catapult attack on wildlife, call 999 to report the crime in action. For non-emergency reports, contact your local police via 101 or through online portals such as the Metropolitan Police or Kent Police websites, depending on your location.
“People must not dismiss these attacks as minor vandalism,” the leaflet warns. “A metal projectile fired at speed can be as lethal as any weapon.”
The campaign calls for increased public awareness and stronger enforcement measures to protect vulnerable wildlife from these cruel and dangerous assaults.
Originally published by UKNIP.
