The agency has introduced two time schedules to borrow and return firearms, during the day from 5 AM to 9 PM, and at night from 5 PM to 9 AM, as farmers need to deal with both diurnal and nocturnal wild animals. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jul. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — The National Police Agency has loosened restrictions on borrowing firearms from police stations, to reduce damages on farms caused by hazardous wild animals.
The agency has introduced two time schedules to borrow and return firearms, during the day from 5 AM to 9 PM, and at night from 5 PM to 9 AM, as farmers need to deal with both diurnal and nocturnal wild animals.
The police will also let citizens use firearms for the entire loan period without the presence of a police officer, if they borrow the gun to hunt dangerous animals.
However, police will confirm beforehand whether farmers who ask for firearms are really in need of them, through communication with the town’s foremen.
An individual will also be able to borrow a firearm for a two month period, instead of the previous two weeks.
If an individual wants to hunt wild animals through a professional animal control team, the team will be comprised of two people at maximum, instead of the previous three.
As two cases of murder by firearms caused an uproar in Korean society at the beginning of the year, the agency had fortified restrictions on citizens borrowing and using police firearms, and citizens who borrowed them had to be accompanied by a police officer all the time.
By M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
