Third catapult petition close to 10,000 signatures

A third attempt is being made by wildlife campaigners to restrict the carrying of catapults in public

A petition to legally restrict the carrying of catapults in public has reached nearly 10,000 signatures in its first four days.

It follows a spate of attacks across the South East on wildlife, property and people using the weapons.

Two previous petitions by a Surrey-based wildlife campaigner have failed to bring about a change in the law, with a London campaigner now calling for a license to be required to own a catapult.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it continues "to keep all relevant legislation under review".

A recent BBC investigation showed the extent of catapult crime across the region.

The new petition, launched on Thursday, is being proposed by Christopher Smith from the Greenwich Wildlife Network, who said he had been called to 19 catapult attacks on birds in September alone.

"The last petition, the government said there are legitimate uses like angling and slingshot targets" he said.

"So our aim is a licensing scheme to regulate them.

"Anglers need a rod license to go fishing. It would be for over-18s."

The previous petitions were sponsored by Danni Rogers, a volunteer at Shepperton Swan Sanctuary in Surrey, with the first running out of time because of the 2024 general election and the second receiving a government response.

He said: "I think the number of signatures over the weekend is telling. Members of the public, police forces and councils have had enough.

"A lot of local authorities have taken the matter into their own hands and worked with police forces to get local bans on carrying catapults.

"I think this time the government aren't going to have an excuse.

"There's far too much catapult crime - it's escalated as we always envisaged, from wildlife, to infrastructure, to humans."

Danni Rogers of the Shepperton Swan Sanctuary has made two previous attempts to introduce legal restrictions on catapults

At 10,000 signatures the government must give an official response to the petition, with a debate in Parliament triggered if it hits 100,000 by 23 April 2026.

"Ten thousand is amazing in the space of four to five days, but our ultimate target is to get to 100,000," said Mr Smith.

"Our target wasn't to get 10,000, it was to go straight for the 100,000."

A government spokesperson said: "Catapults should not be used for illegal purposes, whether against people, wildlife or property.

"We continue to keep all relevant legislation under review in the interest of public safety."

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