Media outrage over catapults...

...but no condemnation of bird shooting by agriculture or for 'sport'.

A 21-year old man in Sevenoaks, Kent has been arrested after videos surfaced of him apparently killing birds with a catapult. This is just the latest in a spate of arrests in Kent and London for animal cruelty with catapults and other makeshift weapons.

Police seized 21 catapults during the arrest. The man has since been released under investigation for animal cruelty offences. A Kent Police spokesperson called the killing of "innocent creatures" with stones or ball bearings "completely unacceptable".

In the past months we have seen media coverage of a mallard duck injured by a catapult in Herne Bay and reports of both pets and swans being targeted in Ashford. Canterbury Councillor Connie Nolan told Kent Online:

"Innocent animals are being killed and injured in our district and across Kent and that is unacceptable. Something needs to be done to make it stop."

We have also heard similar reports of both wild animals and pets being killed with catapults and other makeshift weapons in East London, which is also considered a hotspot for catapult-related incidents. Greenwich Wildlife Network has launched an End Catapult Cruelty campaign in response to the "daily" reports of attacks.

Kent: a hotspot for catapult-related cruelty

The RSPCA has previously reported that it received 896 reports of animals being intentionally harmed with weapons – including with crossbows, catapults, air guns and slingshots - between 2020 and 2023. It said that it has seen a 23% year-on-year increase in the total number of animals attacked in this way.

The charity particularly expressed its concern over the number of incidents of animal cruelty in Kent, the county with the highest number of attacks on animals using these lethal weapons. 61 of the reported attacks took place in the county.

Earlier this year, the RSPCA launched a petition calling for the government to ban the sale of catapults and ammunition and ban the carrying of catapults in public places. It gathered almost 25,000 signatures.

Pigeons killed by catapults, photo by RSPCA

Protect the Wild’s Eliza Egret wrote in August 2024 that the following catapult attacks had been reported in the Kent media over the past years:

• A fox who had to be put down in May after she was shot with a catapult by a group of teenagers in Chatham;

• A group of eight boys killing pigeons and ducks with catapults, and then kicking and throwing a duck against a wall in Maidstone;

• The seizure by police of two catapults and 62 ball bearings belonging to two boys in Paddock Wood after they were reported to have been attacking wildlife;

• A suspected attack on a mallard duck in Faversham. The duck was found lying dead next to her nine eggs.

And in May 2025 Protect the Wild reported more incidents of animal cruelty with catapults and similar weapons in Kent:

• A Black-headed Gull died near Gravesend after being hit by ammunition from a catapult. X-rays revealed that the bird’s wing and elbow had been shattered by the metal shot;

• The BBC reported that a goose and a Moorhen died after being shot with ball bearings from catapults in Greenhithe;

• A vixen was found killed in Orpington. According to The Mirror: “She had a ball bearing lodged in her nose and a fatal wound to her middle”.

Moral disconnect

At Protect the Wild we deplore all cruelty to mammals and birds. These catapult attacks on animals in Kent are horrific. However, we also see a moral disconnect between the outrage expressed by mainstream animal protection organisations, the media and police spokespeople for animals killed with catapults on the one hand, and the near-silence on the shooting of millions of birds for 'sport' or on the countless birds killed under General Licences on the other (see, for example, ‘Why is there shooting in fields near me and is it legal?’).

According to Protect the Wild's founder Rob Pownall:

"Killing animals with a catapult is rightly condemned as cruel and barbaric but the same compassion is missing when it comes to shooting birds for sport. It’s the same needless suffering, just carried out with a shotgun instead of a catapult. If we agree that one is unacceptable, it’s time to admit the other is too."

Protect the Wild’s Charlie Moores and resident bird expert agrees. He has previously said:

“[Birds on General Licence] can be shot all year round on farms and no-one bats an eyelid. When shooters travel around the world to slaughter doves and pigeons in Argentina and South Africa, it’s apparently ‘sport’. But when idiots with catapults do it – media outrage."

Cruel reality

The reality in the UK right now is that those who kill animals with makeshift weapons like catapults for fun are (rightfully) vilified, while the organised shooting of millions of birds every year seems beyond criticism. Isn't the industrial shooting of birds for the entertainment of rich shooting enthusiasts just as horrifying as attacking wildlife with catapults?

The most famous shooters in the UK are the Royal family who host an annual boxing day pheasant shoot at the Royal Estate in Sandringham. These people are widely seen as pillars of society, but what's the difference between using a ball bearing fired from a catapult to kill as opposed to using a shotgun. Both are equally cruel.”

At Protect the Wild we stand against these vicious attacks with catapults and other makeshift weapons, but we will always oppose the cruelty and wanton bloodshed of 'sport' shooting too.

• Read more about Bird Shooting and the Law here.

• Check out End Bird Shooting on Substack.

• Take a look at Greenwich Wildlife Network's End Catapult Cruelty campaign.

• Read Protect the Wild's article on the industrial scale of pheasant shooting

Catapult image by Sovannkiry Sim on Unsplash

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