Man charged after goose hunters receive gunshot wounds

Dec 1 2009 by Andrew Welsh, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

A 46-YEAR-OLD man has been charged in connection with the accidental shooting of two goose hunters in Perthshire.

Both men, who are aged 57, suffered serious gunshot wounds after the incident at Dalreach Farm, Dunning, on Saturday morning.

The duo were hit in the legs by shot.

After a trauma team treated the men’s injuries at the scene, two ambulances took them to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.

Although both suffered lower leg trauma, neither of the pair’s injuries were life-threatening.

Speaking for the first time about the bloodshed, shocked farm owner James Marshall described the shooting as “one of these horrendous accidents.”

He added: “For most people, gun safety is drummed into them but people get excited and they forget,” he said yesterday.

Tayside Police confirmed the incident was an accident and, after clearing guns from the farm, charged a 46-year-old with firearms offences following investigations.

The injured men, whose condition was described as stable, were part of an organised shoot when the gun was accidentally discharged.

A local hunter said 12 bores were the preferred weapon of choice among the Big County’s game baggers.

“Put it this way, I wouldn’t want to be close by when one of them goes off,” said the man.

“If the shot is heavy enough to go through a goose, you can be sure it will do damage whatever it hits, especially at close range.”