Voices is the Dorset Echo's weekly youth page - written for young people by young people.

This week Emily Montgomery discusses the rules around air guns.

Air guns are widely used in many places – in fact there are over six million of them in and around England and Wales.

Most of them are used in a safe and responsible manner and many people enjoy using them, whether it be down at the shooting ranges or out in fields shooting clay pigeons.

However, there are a tiny minority of people whom use air guns in an idiotic way and cause severe injuries and in some cases even death. 

A Bengal cat named Indy was fatally struck by an air rifle pellet.

Five-year-old Indy had been let outside by his owner in Corfe Castle before returning an hour later with fatal injuries.

Despite the vet’s best efforts, the much-loved pet died a few days later. It appeared that he had a ruptured bowel from being shot with a metal pellet. 

The RSPCA is the leading animal charity in the UK and deals with thousands of animals every year.

They are voicing concerns over the use of air guns and say they are highly dangerous pieces of kit. 3,000 animals in three years have come into the care of the RSPCA after being wounded by an air rifle.

The charity has been pushing for tighter regulations on owning an air rifle.

They want all owners to undergo basic safety training and education. They have also reminded people that they face fines of up to £20,000 and up to five years imprisonment.

But are the rules strict enough already? Some argue having stricter regulations may not solve the problem.

One argument says many things including cars, stairs and even beer bottles can be dangerous but do we go after the weapon? No, we go after the user instead.

So stricter regulations may not solve the root cause.

Others argue that why should those who do use airguns in a responsible way should be penalised for the actions of the minority.

By Emily Montgomery