Almost 6,000 guns licensed in Guernsey - States

The States of Guernsey said 1,075 firearm licences have been issued on the island

Almost 6,000 licensed guns are estimated to be in Guernsey, according to the States.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request made by the BBC asked the States of Guernsey to provide an anonymised list of gun ownership in the island and detail the number and type of firearms per individual.

The Committee for Home Affairs said while the figures were "constantly changing", there were approximately 2,000 handguns, 1,100 rifles, 2,100 shotguns and 690 other types of firearms held on licence - a total of 5,890.

It added there are 1,075 firearm licences currently issued to people in Guernsey.

In comparison, an FOI response published by the Government of Jersey said as of 11 June 2024 there were 1,162 active licences and 8,378 firearms and component parts on the island.

Deactivated weapons included

The figures for Guernsey worked out as being about one gun per 11 people on the island, which has a population of 64,421.

The committee said Guernsey's figures did not include guns held by registered firearm dealers, those used for law enforcement purposes or are subject to military exemption.

Deactivated weapons and a number of antique firearms are included in the figures, the committee said.

"Licensed firearms are held for sporting or training purposes, marine safety and for private or museum collections," the committee's response said.