Over 20,000 own firearm for hunting and sports

Over 20,000 Maltese men and women were estimated to own a firearm, a Eurobarometer survey carried out by Eurostat and pollsters Misco show.

Out of 505 interviews carried out in a nationwide survey on firearms, 5% said they owned a firearm, while 93% said they do not own a firearm. Two per cent said they used to own a firearm.

Of those who owned a gun, 56% said they used it for hunting, well above the EU average of 35%; while 36% said they used it for target shooting (EU: 23%) and 21% for collection purposes (EU: 5%). Only 2% said they kept it for persona protection (EU: 14%).

Firearms ownership is relatively uncommon across the EU: just 5% of European citizens own a firearm, while another 5% used to own one. Nine out of ten (90%) have never owned a firearm.

Cyprus has by far the highest ownership rate: 18% of respondents own a firearm, and 13% used to own one. Finland also has a relatively high ownership rate - 13% of respondents own a firearm, and 3% used to - while Croatia reports a high incidence of previous ownership (11% of respondents used to own a firearm, while 6% do so today).

Men are more likely than women to own a firearm now (8% vs. 1%) and people who live in rural areas are more likely to own a firearm than those who live in large towns (7% vs. 3%).

Over a third of people who own or have owned firearms (35%) say that hunting is a reason, while professional reasons, such as service in the police or army, are mentioned by three in ten (29%).

In 20 member states, at least half are in favour of stricter regulation when it comes to owning, buying or selling firearms. Support for stricter regulation is highest in Germany and Malta (both 66%). However, in three member states tates a relative majority of people think that some other means should be used to tackle firearms-related crime, namely France (58% in favour of other means vs. 36% in favour of stricter regulation), Denmark (50% vs. 40%) and Italy (49% vs. 45%).

In 11 member states, over 50% of respondents think that there should be common minimum standards, but in 15 member states over 50% of respondents would prefer each country in the EU to make its own laws, notably in Malta (65%) and Lithuania (64%).