Nearly 3,000 guns were lost by or stolen from people registered to hold them in the past five years, according to figures obtained by the BBC. More than half of these weapons were shotguns.What do you think? How does the situation in the U.K. compare to our own?
The data, which was published for the first time on Wednesday, revealed that 1,448 shotguns and 294 rifles have been stolen since 2007.
The guns lost during the period included 730 shotguns, 86 rifles and 14 revolvers.
Chrissie Hall, spokesperson for the Gun Control Network, said public safety was being compromised "by individuals who have shown themselves to be irresponsible".
"These figures are probably the tip of the iceberg. If gun owners lose their weapons and are in breach of their registration and conditions, their license should be revoked," she told BBC News.
"But whether this happens is at the discretion of the chief constable and the firearms department. It's not always rigorously applied." She added: "People lose their glasses and they lose their umbrella but to lose their gun is unbelievably irresponsible.
"It's part of their conditions that the shotgun is safely stored at all times... obviously if it's lost it isn't safely stored, they're in breach of their licence, they're putting members of the public at risk."
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