BY HANNAH GRAHAM

The RSPCA is appealing for stricter rules on air guns as reported attacks on animals reach a five year high.

The introduction of a law in Scotland now states that anyone who owns an air gun must have a licence which has provoked the RSPCA - which has had 470 calls about such incidents in the first six months of the year, compared to 455 during the same period last year - to campaign for harsher regulations in the rest of the UK.

The charity claims that hundreds of animals are shot every year, the most common being domestic cats.

Earlier this year, Kathy Batten found her cat Whisper shot dead in her back garden. It was the fourth time poor Whisper had been shot by an air gun.

I believe that cruel attacks like these have no purpose except to cause distress to both animals and owners.

If regulations aren’t put in place to ensure only licensed people possess air guns, the wrong people will continue to use them and the problem will get worse.

However, I also think that if someone is stone-hearted enough to injure and possibly kill an innocent animal for no reason, in such a cruel way, they probably won’t have an issue with owning a weapon with no licence.

This is why punishments for those who do use air guns against animals such be much tougher.

It is important for people to realise that attacks like these have more than just one victim; it is heartbreaking for the families who find their beloved pets have been killed.

If you see or hear of any attacks like these, it is important to report them so authorities can attempt to find out who carried out the incident.

We should all push for tougher regulation so that it become more difficult for people to possess air guns, and we need harsher sentences for people who abuse animals.