Are shoot ’em up video games behind airgun attacks on cats?
In the UK, the RSPCA report a sharp rise in pets being shot at with airguns and have suggested that the popularity of violent video games may be a factor combined with boredom. And what about a lack of parental guidance?

In 2015, thus far, there have been 48 reports to the RSPCA of airgun shootings. At the same time in 2014, there were 18; a 170% increase.
Forty percent of veterinarians affiliated to the British Veterinary Association report dealing with airgun or crossbow injuries to pets.
A vet said:
“The majority are clearly inflicted by low-powered airguns at close range. This suggests children who have been given airguns and are looking for something to shoot….”
Close range? This is incredibly cruel behavior. Have these children and youths lost their moral compass or did they have one in the first place?
An example of this unhappy trend is Angel, a female black and white cat. She crawled home one day. Her caretakers thought that she had been hit by a car.
Their veterinarian diagnosed a pellet wound in her side, which had penetrated her stomach. Her injuries were serious enough for a decision to be made to euthanise her.
Eight miles from Angel’s attack, Wilma, a tabby, was shot about a fortnight ago. It might be the same person doing the shooting.
In the UK, based on my experience of reading about random attacks on cats, airgun and arrow attacks are by far the most common.
Whilst trying to avoid stereotypes, the indication is that bored male youths are idly taking pot shots at wandering cats with the new ‘toy’ that their Dad bought them: a airgun. Although it is an offence, in the UK, for a person under 18 to be given such a weapon or to buy or hire one.
When I was their age, there were no personal computers. The violent video game, often played online internationally, is a new phenomenon and it is disturbing in colouring the attitude of youths to violence, rendering it painless and a turning it into a game.
Airguns don’t require a license in the UK. They are the equivalent of BB guns in the USA.
“Air weapons cause a huge amount of unnecessary suffering and no one should ever be using them on an animal.” (Adam Jones, RSPCA Inspector)
Source: The RSPCA blames video games …..