Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997

10 Expanding ammunition etc.: exemptions from prohibition

(1) Section 5A of the 1968 Act (exemptions from requirement of authority under section 5) shall be amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (4) (shooting of animals)—

(a) after the word “acquire”, in the first place it appears, there shall be inserted the words “, or to sell or transfer,”; and

(b) for paragraphs (a) and (b) there shall be substituted the following paragraphs—

“(a) he is authorised by a firearm certificate or visitor’s firearm permit to possess, or purchase or acquire, any expanding ammunition; and

(b) the certificate or permit is subject to a condition restricting the use of any expanding ammunition to use in connection with any one or more of the following, namely—

(i) the lawful shooting of deer;

(ii) the shooting of vermin or, in the course of carrying on activities in connection with the management of any estate, other wildlife;

(iii) the humane killing of animals;

(iv) the shooting of animals for the protection of other animals or humans.”.

(3) For subsection (7) (firearms dealers) there shall be substituted the following subsection—

“(7) The authority of the Secretary of State shall not be required by virtue of subsection (1A) of section 5 of this Act for a person carrying on the business of a firearms dealer, or any servant of his, to have in his possession, or to purchase, acquire, sell or transfer, any expanding ammunition or the missile for any such ammunition in the ordinary course of that business.”.