Weeks after three cygnets were found shot dead on a lake in Wrexham, a politician has called for a clampdown on the use of lethal weapons by teenagers.

Kent MP Jonathan Shaw is seeking to ban the unsupervised use of airguns by teenagers under 17, and has presented a bill to the House of Commons.

Simon Clarke:The ban will not help

Presently, children as young as 14 can use air weapons without supervision.

The RSPCA has backed the proposal, but a north Wales conservation group has attacked the scheme.

Last month, a trio of young swans were killed at Erddig lake near Wrexham after being shot with an airgun.

The dead birds belonged to a family of two adult swans and five cygnets.

They were discovered by a walker who saw their bodies floating in the water.

Kevin Manning, RSPCA Superintendent for Wales, said shooting incidents involving animals were becoming more common.

"For modern youth, shooting at stationery targets doesn't seem to be enough.

I don't think a blanket approach like this will actually cut out the problem

Simon Clarke BASC

"They want something a little bit more interesting and, out of boredom, they fire at pet animals - cats and dogs, and they shoot at cattle and sheep in fields.

"They'll also wander into the countryside and indiscriminately fire at any wildlife that they see," he said.

Among other cases in Wales, a dog was shot 19 times with an air rifle in a frenzied attack in Aberdare, and a swan was shot on a lake in Cardiff.

Between January and September this year, the RSPCA investigated 800 reports of airgun attacks on animals.

In March this year, a south Wales teenager was treated in intensive care after being shot in the forehead by a pellet fired from an air rifle.

Dangers

However, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) in Rossett near Wrexham have argued that a new bill would not improve the situation.

Spokesman Simon Clarke said he was against Jonathan Shaw's proposal.

"I don't think a blanket approach like this will actually cut out the problem.

"There is a problem with the criminal misuse of airguns in society - mainly confined to urban areas - and it's a problem among youth.

"Just putting a new law down isn't going to deter people who misuse weapons, and it may even have the opposite effect," he said.

BASC are trying to highlight the dangers of misusing air weapons themselves.

With help from the Association of Chief Police Officers, the group has produced a code of practice for the use of air rifles.

More than 100,000 copies of the code have been distributed to schools, clubs and individuals.