AN OVERHAUL of airgun licensing has been branded a farce by a headteacher who has been prevented from using his weapon for three months amid claims of a applications logjam.
A new law made it a criminal offence to own and use an air weapon in Scotland without holding a certificate from December 3,1 last year.
Headteacher Tim McKay, 54, has now been unable to use his air rifle for three months, meaning his garden has been overrun with dozens of rabbits.
Mr McKay, who runs Ellon Academy, in Aberdeenshire, said: “You don’t expect to be sitting here without your air rifle months and months after your application.
“The whole thing is a bit of a farce.
“I originally applied for a certificate in November but when I’d heard nothing back by January, I phoned up the police to ask what was going on.
“They said they hadn’t received my application and told me because I still had an air rifle I was breaking the law because the new legislation had come into effect.
“They said ‘if the police came round to your house you would be charged with illegally holding an air weapon.’ “It became clear I’d have to submit a second application and when I asked how long that would take to process, they said ‘there are only a few of us working in the office and because the applications that were sent in months ago are only being looked at now, yours won’t be in front of us until April or May’.”
Mr McKay’s air rifle has been held for safekeeping by a neighbouring farmer since January.
Air rifle holders who own or use their weapons without a certificate can be jailed for up to two years.
Police Scotland dispute claims of a backlog insisting that very few punctual applications are still to be processed while late paperwork is being worked through chronologically from the date they are received.
A spokesman for the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), which opposed the new legislation, claims there are more than 500,000 airguns in Scotland.
He said: “If individuals did not apply for the air weapon certificate before October 31, 2016, it was important they made alternative arrangements for their airguns to avoid being in illegal possession.
“With the police unable to deal with the extra administrative burden, it was apparent that when the clock struck midnight on December 31, hundreds of thousands of people would be instantly criminalised.”
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “Applications received following the October 31 deadline are being processed in date order – this work is progressing, on schedule, between January and June 2017.
“Police Scotland has a dedicated Air Weapon Project Team currently comprising of one chief inspector, one inspector, one sergeant and 16 constables who are continuing to process late applications, which were received after the deadline.
“Applications are still being received on a daily basis and additional support is provided from other areas of Police Scotland as required.”
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