Sevenoaks man arrested for catapult-related wildlife offences

Some of the 22 catapults seized from the address.

An ongoing crackdown on the use of catapults across Kent has resulted in a Sevenoaks man being arrested on suspicion of wildlife cruelty offences.

Officers from Kent Police’s Rural Task Force also seized 22 handmade catapults after carrying out the arrest at a property in the Greatness area on Thursday 4 September 2025.

They were responding to reports that videos had been posted on social media appearing to show animals including birds and a squirrel being fired at and killed.

The arrested man, aged 21, was later released pending further enquiries.

Arrest footage

Body-worn video footage of the arrest and items seized, view the footage here: https://youtu.be/UhDmEA3AmK4

Unacceptable

Since the beginning of June 2025 Kent Police has received an average of 14 contacts per day that relate to the use or possession of catapults, which sometimes includes multiple reports for the same incident.

Sergeant Ross Haybourne of the Rural Task Force said:

‘Officers and PCSOs across the force have been taking enforcement action against people who are suspected of using catapults to cause criminal damage or harm to wildlife, including the seizing of equipment, the issuing of Community Protection Warnings and arrests like in this particular case.‘The firing of stones, ball bearings or other objects at innocent creatures or people’s property is completely unacceptable and we are determined to put a stop to it.‘Please continue to report all incidents to us either online at www.kent.police.uk/report or by calling 999 in an emergency or if a crime is in progress.’