January 27, 2005
Royal Mail propose a ban on the carriage of firearms and ammunition
I've just received the following from Steve over at Cybershooters:
Postcomm are currently considering a proposal from the Royal Mail to ban carriage of firearms and ammunition and anything else that resembles a firearm or ammunition.As Steve says, it's vital that shooters take part in this consultation process and I urge all of you to make a submission.You can download the consultation document from:
As those of you who have ever attempted to use another company for carriage can probably attest to, if this proposal goes through it will be an utter disaster for shooting in this country, because most other carriers won't carry firearms or ammunition either. As far as I can see, if it goes through, Parcel Force would be the only option to many places - if Parcel Force won't do it, you're stuffed.
The whole thing is predicated on a "request" from ACPO that the Royal Mail should notify them if they find firearms in the post, which is screwing up the whole distribution chain. Obviously such a request has no real basis in law, and ACPO are not a law enforcement agency.
However, regardless of that, the total lack of alternatives to many destinations makes it absolutely paramount that changes are made to this proposal. My suggestion would be to have trained postal inspectors who could tell the difference between something lawful and unlawful going through the post, which would negate the need to call the police immediately, as the package could be held back until the police can get there.
I'm sure there are other ways to solve the problem though.
It is VITAL that people make submissions. I'd especially concentrate on explaining your experiences with other carriers (try phoning a few and asking, if you haven't got any) and how unworkable the proposal is on that basis. I'll post my submission on the website once I've written it.
