Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that slingshots are being used to cause damage to vehicles and local wildlife in rural areas.

The Government has not made an assessment of reports that slingshots are being used to cause damage to vehicles and local wildlife in rural areas. We have been made aware by the National Wildlife Crime Unit of a perceived increase in the use of catapults against animals. The Government takes wildlife crime seriously and it is a matter of concern. Under provisions in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006, there are a range of offences around deliberate attempts to kill, injure or inflict harm on wildlife. We expect all crime to be reported to police and investigated appropriately.