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Police Forced to Clarify Good News for Duck Hunters


Wed, Oct 16,

"The Police issuing a press release clarifying that they did not intend to enforce the Arms (Prohibited Ammunition) Order as prohibiting steel shot in shotgun cartridges is a win for duck hunters, but it's a sad state of affairs when the laws are so ambiguous they have to do it this way" according to ACT Leader David Seymour

"Hunters contacted me yesterday, pointing to the words “Projectiles that have a steel or tungsten carbide penetrator intended to achieve better penetration” would include steel shot used in shotguns for duck hunting.

"The police have today issued a clarification in response that they do not intend to enforce this prohibition order as including steel shot. This is fantastic news, but an unfortunate way to get to it.

"The police have claimed that it was always wrong to interpret the law as banning steel shot in shotgun shells, because 'shotgun cartridges are specifically excluded from the prohibition order.'" This is demonstrably untrue, the Order explicitly exempts shotgun cartridges from two of the ten categories of ammunition it bans. However, it does not exempt Shotgun Cartridges from the category 'Projectiles that have a steel or tungsten carbide penetrator intended to achieve better penetration,' which created the concern.

"They are not only wrong in their claim factually, but in their interpretation. The fact shotgun cartridges were excluded from other prohibited categories made it more reasonable to assume the category in question did include shotgun cartridges.

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"Not only did the Police get this detail completely wrong, but they had to reissue their press release after initially getting the title of the Arms (Prohibited Ammunition) Order 2019, the Order being referred to, wrong too.

"It is easy for Police to say in hindsight that they were never going to interpret the law as capturing those with steel shot shotgun cartridges, but that is not the standard. The standard is whether the community, including those with expertise such as the Coalition of Licensed Firearm Owners can be confident they are following the law without the need for police clarification.

"That the Police had to issue a clarification of how they were enforcing the law, and got the details of the law wrong twice in the process, is a good example of why the Government's approach to firearm legislation is leading to a breakdown in trust and communication.

ENDS

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