Meeting of the Parliament 25 June 2015
The intention of people who support the bill has never been to ban air weapons; it has been to regulate them. Air weapons can and, sadly, do kill. It is wrong that anyone who wants to can keep and use a lethal weapon without any checks on why they have it and whether they can be relied on to use it responsibly and for a legitimate purpose. I am pleased that the bill will rectify that situation.
Like other members, I was lobbied to exclude people who already hold a firearms licence. The bill excludes them from some but not all of the licence tests. That is correct because, although a person who has a firearm might be a suitable person also to have an airgun licence, they might not have a good reason for doing so and it is correct that the chief constable should be required to ascertain that they have a good reason for having an air weapon.
I note the concern that the Law Society of Scotland raises in its stage 3 briefing that there are around 500,000 air weapons in Scotland that cannot be properly traced and that they might be sold off or given away in advance of the bill coming into force rather than being handed in to the police. Does the cabinet secretary have a strategy to try to encourage people to hand in their weapons rather than give them away and have them circulating illegally in Scotland?
In that briefing, the Law Society also makes the point that the purchase of ammunition is not regulated and that there is no requirement in the bill to produce the weapons certificate when purchasing ammunition. I suspect that the purchase of ammunition might still be reserved—I think that it is only the licensing of air weapons that has been handed over to the Scottish Parliament—and therefore it is not possible for that to be addressed here. Perhaps it needs to be addressed at Westminster.
The regulation of air weapons will protect people, domestic pets and wild animals. It is difficult to assess the numbers of wild animals that have been injured or killed by air weapons, as they might die in places where their carcasses will never be discovered.
I was a bit concerned about an amendment that was agreed to at stage 2 that allows young people to use airguns for pest control. Originally, the bill had permitted only young people who were commercial pest controllers or employed by them to shoot pests. I accept that shooting can be a humane method of pest control in the right hands, but I am a bit concerned that, because of that stage 2 amendment, untrained young people—or, indeed, untrained adults—can use airguns to shoot live animals and, potentially, cause them significant suffering if they are not instantly dispatched.
I seek the cabinet secretary’s reassurance on whether other legislation, such as the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, provides sufficient protection for wild animals that might be considered pests but are, after all, still sentient creatures and might suffer badly if untrained individuals take pot shots at them in the name of pest control.
I mentioned scrap metal dealers during the stage 1 debate, having discussed the bill with a local and reputable metal dealer. I was pleased to note that, at stage 2, the Government introduced amendments to prevent a scrap metal dealer from paying in cash by clarifying that only a bank or building society account may be used when undertaking a sale of metal. That is welcome. It will prevent the theft of scrap metal, which has been a serious problem for some time—since metal prices rose—and can have serious consequences for public safety and public convenience. Welcome amendments were made regarding record-keeping requirements and establishing a register of metal dealers, which had both been argued for.
It is correct that local government will take responsibility for regulating sexual entertainment venues, taking into account the views of local communities. I agree that councils are best placed to do that. I pay tribute to Sandra White and others who have campaigned on the issue of sexual entertainment venues for many years. It is easy to be portrayed as a bit of a killjoy and illiberal when taking on such an issue, but people in this chamber rightly recognise that commercial sexual exploitation is a form of violence against women.
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