Is this another nail in the coffin of the shooting fraternity or is this just common sense!!

Yesterday, the Home Office published an updated response to the 2024 consultation on controls of the use of crossbows on public safety grounds.

The Government intends to legislate as follows:

“2.1.0  Public safety is a government priority. The government is concerned how easily that these weapons can currently be purchased and the use of these weapons in the murders in Bushey on 9 July 2024, and the attacks by crossbow in Headingley on 26 April 2025, and in other cases where crossbows have been used to commit murders and other serious criminal offences, have highlighted that further controls on crossbows are required.

2.1 1. The government will, therefore, introduce further restrictions on crossbows through introducing a licensing scheme for existing crossbow owners, and we will consult on the details of the licensing scheme. In addition, the government will also prohibit the sale of crossbows. We will consult on how best such a ban might be achieved, and will set out more detail in the consultation, but we would anticipate that existing crossbow owners will be able to keep their crossbow provided they apply for a licence and pass the necessary suitability checks that a licensing scheme would require. We also plan to prohibit broadhead arrows as discussed in the call for evidence.

2.12. Responses to the call for evidence showed that the majority of crossbows purchased by respondents identified as owners were bought online. Whilst face to face sales enable sellers to carry out any required age verification at the point of sale we want to ensure that purchases made online are subject to robust checks. The government has, therefore, brought forward measures in the Crime and Policing Bill to update the law on online sales of crossbows by requiring stronger age verification checks at point of sale and point of delivery”.

We will continue to advise members on developments in this area.

We recognise a ban on sales may have a significant impact on a number of our retail members. According to the Home Office, “there is no timetable yet for a prohibition on sales of crossbows. As set out in the Government response published yesterday, there will be a consultation on the details of the prohibition, and in due course, it will require new primary legislation when Parliamentary time allows