§ Lord Northfieldasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many certificates authorising possession and use of dart guns are on issue currently in Great Britain.
Earl FerrersGuns which are designed or adaptedto discharge darts containing tranquillising drugs are defined as prohibited weapons under Section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968. As such they may not be purchased, acquired or possessed without first the authority of my right honourable friends the Secretaries of State and second, either the consequent issue of a firearms certificate by the local chief officer of police or registration as a firearm dealer.
In Scotland, 75 Section 5 authorities are currently in force relating to dart guns, and in addition one registered firearms dealer has been given authority under Section 5 to deal specifically in tranquillising dart guns.
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 570 authorities under Section 5 have been granted to possess tranquillising equipment. A breakdown between those authorities for dart guns and those for other types of tranquillising equipment, and statistics on the number of firearms certificates on issue in respect of such weapons, are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.