New gun laws still under fire

2002-01-15 12:13

Craig Bishop

Pietermaritzburg - While animal rights groups like the SPCA have welcomed draft legislation aimed at controlling the spread of illegal weapons, hunters and recreational shooters are not completely happy with it.

Under the new Firearms Act, initiated by the departments of finance, safety and security and the police, licences are no longer needed for weapons under the 5.6mm or .22-inch calibre.

Licences are needed above this calibre and any weapon that has an energy discharge of more than eight joules also needs a licence and a personal profile certificate from an accredited gunsmith, according to the police finance and administration services communications officer, Senior Superintendent Andrew Leash.

The age limit for owning a firearm has also been raised from 18 to 21.

However, the president of the KwaZulu-Natal Hunters' Association - the second-largest hunting association in South Africa - Charl van Heerden said the new age limit was too high.

Stiff penalties, including jail sentences of up to five years, will be introduced for offences such as discharging a weapon at a person or their property, or causing injury.

Although the penalties have not yet been introduced, the police will investigate all such cases and a person could be declared unfit to own a weapon, said Leash.

SPCA regional inspector Daniel Stewart said the organisaation welcomed any move that reduced the number of weapons in society.

"Our problem often is that low-calibre firearms injure and maim animals rather than kill them outright."

Licence fees have also been raised, from R25 to R60 for a lost licence, from R100 to R250 for a bona fide sportsman or hunter, from R250 to R600 for a gunsmith licence and from R500 to R1 200 for an arms and ammunition dealer's licence. Van Heerden said the new fees were "excessive for the amount of work that went into the processing of an application". Leash said the purpose of the new legislation was to prevent the proliferation of illegal weapons and to enhance peoples' constitutional rights to protect themselves. "We have looked at Canadian, European and American models and have learnt a lot from these lessons," he said.

- The Witness