In two separate accidents, the dangers of undertaking pest control by shooting have been made perfectly clear. It is not known if a professional pest controller was involved in either accident, but the perils remain the same.
In the first, a man died from a gunshot wound at Brockton, Lydbury North, near Bishop’s Castle on 2 May whilst he and a friend were hunting rabbits on farmland in Shropshire. The fatally injured man was later identified by West Mercia Police as Mr Carl Conrad Rubisch, aged 30, from Lichfield, Staffordshire.
Detective Inspector Mark Bellamy said: “At this stage of the investigation, there is no evidence to suggest that another person’s gun was fired. It would appear the victim’s own gun accidentally discharged resulting in the fatal injury.”
Shooting rats
In the second incident, a man died in an apparent freak gun accident as he shot rats in his outhouse. Angus Monk, in his 50s, is understood to have fired his rifle at vermin in his outdoor toilet when a bullet rebounded and hit him in the chest.
The accident occurred on 3 May on the mainland to the remote Scottish island of Benbecula, where father-of-two, Angus lived.
