Opponents of plans to increase the number of shooting ranges near a Buddhist monastery have raised concerns about an image said to have been taken on the estate.
The image, which has now been removed from social media, shows a man firing a gun through a hatch in a board with the words "@thatb**** written on it.
It is alleged to have been taken at an competitive event last month on a shooting range near the Samye Ling Buddhist Monastery in Eskdalemuir in Dumfriesshire, which is managed by Police Scotland.
Nicholas Jennings, who sits on the local community council, said it should be cause for concern in the wake of the worst mass shooting in Britain in more than a decade in Plymouth.
He said: "Misogyny and guns seem to go together."
Jake Davison, 22, killed five people with a shotgun, including a mother and a three-year-old girl, before turning the gun on himself.
After the attack, it emerged he had shown interest in the incel – or involuntary celibate – online culture fuelled by misogyny and abuse of women.
A petition has been lodged, backed by the monks of Samye Ling, calling for areas of spiritual or religious significance to be protected in law from rural shooting ranges within a five-mile radius.
Two planning applications lodged by neighbouring farms to develop commercial shooting ranges in the small borders village were rejected by Dumfries and Galloway Council.
Gardners Guns, which operates a range at Clerkhill Farm, around two miles from the monastery, is said to be formulating plans for six new training areas.
In an online "2K Training Facility Update" the company says it is waiting for an Independent Range Safety Inspection by Police Scotland for area four.
The company goes on to say that it will not be advertising any future competitions due to the due to the "recent mainstream media mania about shooting and Eskdalemuir."
READ MORE: Inquests to open into Plymouth shooting victims
Helen of Garners Guns writes: "We have decided to not advertise anything to do with the Training facility or competitions anywhere where the media may get hold of it, so no Facebook, Instagram or similar."
The company writes that it is "fully committed to developing the finest, most diverse training facility in Europe within the next 2 years".
The Gun Control Network has called for a government review of firearms legislation amid concern that members of approved clubs can fire guns, including long-range weapons, without a licence.
Superintendent Alison Higgins of Police Scotland's firearms and explosive licensing department said: "All clubs and ranges are subject to stringent licensing arrangements, and all ranges are subject to regular police inspections and monitoring.
"Registered clubs notify Police Scotland of their members and we notify them if there are any concerns regarding the suitability of any member in that club.
"Any member of an approved club can use club weapons under approval from either the Scottish Government or the Home Office on the range without holding a licence."
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said the range on Eskdalemuir is managed by the force and has Scottish Government approval.
She added that the force was not investigating this image as "misogyny isn’t a criminal offence".
The Herald has contacted Gardners Guns for comment.
The company has said previously that it has been the victim of a "witch hunt" and said the Clerkhill range is designed to the highest safety specifications.
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