The firearm most commonly used is the air rifle or “BB gun.” Unfortunately many adults and most young people are under the mistaken assumption that an air rifle kills immediately. In reality, the small air-driven projectiles or “pellets” do not carry the sufficient kinetic energy needed to humanely dispatch small animals, thus rendering them hopelessly wounded to die a slow death. Birds rendered flightless and maimed small mammals such as rabbits are just some of the many animals admitted to the SPCA Wildlife Department carrying air gun pellets in their bodies (see X-ray photo of a pellet lodged in a crow's upper body, above). In rare cases removal and a successful recovery are possible, but all too often severe damage has been done, thus rehabilitation and release are not options.
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