“More people are engaging in safe, sociable, enjoyable sports” The number of people enjoying shooting is growing, with more than 23,000 new shotgun certificates issued by police forces in England and Wales in the past year. There were 23,718 new applications between 2016 and 2017, of which 98 per cent (23,128) were granted and two per cent (590) were refused. In total, there are now 1,349,099 shotguns covered by certificates.
There was a one per cent rise in firearms certificates, up to 154,958 in total and 559,302 total firearms. The figures were revealed in a new set of national statistics published by the Home Office earlier this month.
Liam Stokes, Countryside Alliance head of shooting, commented: “First of all, welcome to the 23,128 new shotgun certificate holders. It is great…