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A new bill proposed in Arizona would allow the use of .22 caliber guns containing a special cartridge to control rats and snakes within city limits. Currently, only the use of blanks is allowed within city limits to control pests.
House Bill 2022 would amend state law to allow use of “rat shots,” or plastic cartridges that contain a number of small diameter pellets. The bill only allows for .22 caliber shot rounds with pellets that are 1.3 mm or less in diameter.
The bill’s sponsor notes that it is not an animal regulation proposal, but a proposal of an exception to unlawful discharge of firearms.
“It’s not a bill that deals with harming snakes or rats or any other vermin, it merely is a firearms bill,” Rep. Jay Lawrence, R-Scottsdale, tells KPNX-TV.
