‘Catapults Must Be Treated Like Knives’ Says Deputy Police Commissioner

Published on: 16 Jul, 2025
Updated on: 19 Jul, 2025

Deputy PCC Ellie Vesey-Thompson

By David Reading

Surrey’s Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner has called on the Government to tighten up laws on the sale and possession of catapults.

Ellie Vesey-Thompson said in a letter to the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, that there is an urgent need for action.

She wrote that catapults must be subject to the same rules as knives, giving police greater powers to crack down on those who use them as weapons.

Her plea for action follows numerous reports of wildfowl being killed and injured in Surrey, including Ash Vale, where catapult attacks by teenagers along the Basingstoke Canal caused public outrage in May.

Currently, catapults are not illegal in Britain unless they are being used or carried as a weapon. Using catapults for target practice or hunting in the countryside is not illegal, as long as the carrier is on private property, and some catapults are specifically designed for anglers to spread bait across a wide area.

However, wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, meaning it is an offence to intentionally kill, injure or take a wild bird except under a licence.

Vesey-Thompson said: “It is time to start treating catapults as we would knives. Anyone caught with one must have a legitimate purpose for doing so, and it should be their responsibility to prove that purpose if they’re stopped by the police.”

Among the attacks reported in The Guildford Dragon NEWS in May were the following:

• Four teenagers with catapults firing at ducks on the Basingstoke Canal at Ash Vale, seriously injuring one of them.
• A coot found dead floating next to its nest. According to a post on social media, a witness had seen it catapulted.

More than 50 people turned up at a public meeting in Ash Vale on May 15 to demonstrate their anger.

Comments made by residents suggested there may be more catapult incidents in the Ash area than those actually reported to the police, the targets including not only wildlife but also people’s property and their pets.

The main focus of the meeting was how attacks on wildlife could be most effectively reported to the police.

As a result, signs have now been displayed along the canal providing anyone witnessing attacks with a clear explanation of the most effective reporting method. These give the instruction “See it, film it, report it” and carry a QR code enabling people to upload video evidence.

Other local areas where attacks on wildfowl have been reported include Fleet Pond. A member of the public found a dead Canada goose and injured swan  on the morning of May 10. Both birds are thought to have been hit with catapults.

The swan, which had been struck with a ball bearing, was collected by the Swan Sanctuary.

After the Ash Vale incidents, Surrey Police began patrolling the canal towpath, stating on social media: “In one patrol our local officer covered nearly 7 km of the canal where they spoke with passers by whilst also protecting local wildlife who have previously been targeted.

“This is an example of just one patrol and the routes are changed every time. They also include surrounding roads, alleyways and footpaths.”

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