"A pandemic of wildlife abuse"
The Shepperton Swan Sanctuary tells us unless there is a law change, animal abuse involving catapults will continue to rise
The Shepperton Swan sanctuary tell us they are seeing a "pandemic of wildlife abuse"
Campaigners have called for new laws on possessing the weapon in public and restrictions on sales to children.
Danni Rogers is a volunteer at the Swan Sanctuary and tells us that over the last few years he has seen a dramatic growth in catapult attacks on wildlife
He told us the situation was 'beyond their worst nightmares
"In 2023 it was alarming and we put the concerns out straight, it's just getting out of hand. one death is far too many, but it's beyond our worst nightmare, the level of attacks currently going ahead."
Danni added he believes people are underestimating just how much damage a catapult can do
"Yeah, they're killers. This new trend, I don't like to call it a trend, but that's what it is. These are very dangerous weapons and cause significant damage and unfortunately for rescuers like me, a lot of death.
When you do speak to members of the public and other organizations, even certain police forces, they were shocked when we showed them the footage and actually the velocity and the power these catapults which people are purchasing possess.
100 mile an hour, 350 odd feet a second, Oxford or Cambridge University did a velocity test and they said it's no different to someone finding a rifle."
The new laws being campaigned for would make it illegal to even own a catapult without a legitimate reason to do so (such as fishing)
Danni explains that in the current situation, the police are next to powerless to do anything about the issue
"There's no legislation about possession one or walking the streets with one. They're cheap, certain manufacturers advertise ball bearings as ammunition. And the fact that you've got social media, people are uploading videos. It's a pandemic of wildlife cruelty.
I've had police officers come up to me and tell me before, 'Danni, you could be stood there with a swan at your feet with a catapult and a pocket full of ball bearings, but there's nothing we could do about it.' Because who's to say you did it?"
Some politicians are calling for catapults to be classed as offensive weapons in order to give police the power to deal with the problem
Danni says recent years have been heart breaking seeing the damage these weapons can do
"Yeah, it's awful. And I say to members of the public and people all the time, it's not something you can get used to. And I don't want to get used to it. I don't want to be turning up and going, oh, OK, another victim to cowboy crime. These are individuals. Each rescue special, each rescue deserves their own story. And yeah, it's heart breaking.
They're actually loved within the community, the local residents. And then when I'm in a kayak or when I'm in the river pulling this body out, then you've got a mother and daughter coming up and they see me on the side of the road with this signet or this dead swan and you know the little girl goes 'is that Romeo' is that and I'm going unfortunately yes it is and you can just see the terror in their face the sadness in their face that someone only a few years older than them have done this."
I can never get over what we've seen. All rescues will tell you the same."