AIR rifle attacks on wildlife and domestic animals have increased over the past year years, RSPCA figures show.

There were 15 such incidents in 2010, 23 the following year, and 26 last year. There have been 10 so far this year.

Among the attacks was an incident at Alkincoates Woodland Nature Reserve in Colne in 2008 when a group of men shot dead rare birds.

And in 2012, six ducks and a goose were shot dead in Ashton Park, Darwen.

The numbers also revealed that air rifle attacks reported across England and Wales were on the rise with 799 reported in 2012, compared to 759 the previous year.

James Yeates, chief veterinary officer at RSPCA, said: “Cats and wildlife are often the target of air rifle attacks, simply because they are out in the open with no-one to protect them.

“The injuries caused by such attacks are horrific and often fatal.

“These attacks are often deliberate by people who just don’t care about hurting animals or are deliberately targeting animals because they consider them a nuisance.

“Whoever carries out these attacks needs to understand that they are illegal and you face up to six months in prison if caught.

“The fact that we have received almost 800 reports of injured animals is deeply worrying and shows we still need to keep up our work to stop such attacks.”

The RSPCA is calling for tighter controls with better education and explanation of the law when buying an air gun and said that everyone must receive basic safety training before being allowed to leave the shop.

RSPCA inspector Will Lamping said: “Every year we have problems with people deliberately targeting gulls as they are seen by some as pests and a nuisance but they are simply wildlife following their opportunist nature to search for food which is often discarded as rubbish by us.”