Can I shoot wild boar in the UK with .30-06?

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By Barnaby Dracup

Wednesday, 08 December 2010

I use a .30-06 for deer on an open ticket. Can I shoot wild boar in the UK with this rifle?

Wild boar shooting in the UK
GEORGE WALLACE
Your .30-06 is certainly suitable for shooting boar, so provided you have the required permission from the landowner there is no legal reason why you should not do so.

There is, however, a fly in the ointment and that fly, as so often in our field, is the attitude of some Police Firearms Licensing people.

But let’s look first at the legislation.

It is a tenet of British Law that anything which is not prevented, is allowed.

Therefore, since the Law does not prevent you from shooting wild boar and you have a suitable rifle, you may do so.

Also, while it is an offence to contravene the conditions on a firearm certificate, unless those conditions actually prevent the shooting of wild boar, then again you may do so.

If the condition does appear to prevent it, then you should ask for it to be altered.

It is no part of any police function to prevent you from doing something which the Law allows.

In fact they have no authority to do so.

The correct condition for all sporting rifles is: “The calibre rifle and ammunition to which this certificate relates may be used for shooting name of quarry which provided your ‘good reason’ for possessing the rifle and other lawful quarry.”

This condition was circulated to all their firearms licensing departments in 2009 by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) following talks with the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO).

Most have taken notice and will, on request, put the proper condition on your certificate.

One notable exception appears to be Cheshire which has taken bloody-minded obstruction to this and seems to have developed it into a department policy – a stance that, by association, brings the whole of Cheshire police into disrepute.