Jakt i Thailand

Med den här artikeln från Bangkok Post (2008), så vet man inte överhuvudtaget vad som egentligen gäller om luftvapen.

Här står det att dom är icke licenspliktiga ? sen 6 år

Förvirringen är total som vanligt. Troligen är det lite hopblandat BB guns/Soft Air Guns i artikeln.

Så det är väl bara att knalla in i en lokal vapenaffär och fråga.

Defenitionen på en BB-gun finns här: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BB_gun

Thailand - BB guns becoming a cause of concern for police

While the possession of firearms is strictly regulated in Thailand, the general public's easy access to various types of non-lethal firearms, particularly BB guns, has been a cause for concern among law enforcement officers.

After being introduced in Thailand about four years ago, BB guns - or air rifles - are now widely available in markets, especially in Bangkok's Saphan Lek and Khlong Thom areas. It is easy to own one, despite the fact that the distributors need to seek permission from authorities to sell them and they also have to register their products with the Interior Ministry.

Laws governing non-lethal firearms like BB guns require the distributors to seek permission to sell them from the relevant authorities.

However, most retail shops selling BB guns around the country have not sought permission from authorities or registered their BB guns.

BB guns are smuggled into Thailand via several routes, including through Thailand's border provinces with Laos and Burma, as well as its sea ports.

Nong Khai is one of the provinces under close watch by authorities for smuggled BB guns.

Customs officials became concerned on Dec 26, when officers in the northeastern province bordering Laos seized 150 BB guns worth one million baht from a smuggler.

A BB gun seller in the Saphan Lek area said most BB guns and fake firearms produced in China were transported down to Mae Sai district in Chiang Rai from Kunming in China, along with other commodities.

Those produced in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan were shipped directly to Bangkok, he said.

"Guns made in China are priced at about 5,000 baht.

But if they are from Taiwan or Japan the prices could go up to more than 10,000 baht," he said.

BB guns which have been modified to increase their power can cost up to 100,000 baht, he added.

The prices exclude the small balls used as bullets. A set of 5,000 pellets costs between 200 and 300 baht.

The law does not prohibit people from owning and using BB guns or any kind of artificial firearms. They are forbidden from carrying artificial firearms openly in public places, however.

Those carrying any sort of artificial firearms openly in public without justifiable reason face a 100 baht fine and police can seize their weapon.

For this reason, people who sell BB guns usually suggest that their customers not load the guns' magazines while carrying them in public places, so they can claim the toy guns are not ready to use if they are grabbed by the police.

Criminals have also been taking advantage of the easy availability of BB guns by using them to commit crimes.

Jongkol Thim-arun, the director of the Customs Office in Nong Khai, said police have also arrested several crime suspects with BB guns and found their BB guns have been modified and can be used as real weapons.

Several criminals caught by police recently were found to be carrying BB guns which look very similar to real pistols. One was used in a bank robbery last Thursday in Nonthaburi. The Lao robber, Somchai Liwong, used a fake gun to rob the Bank of Ayudhya in Bang Yai before being shot dead by police after resisting a call to surrender. The gun he was carrying was found to be fake.

The rising popularity of BB guns has been linked to the increasing popularity of BB gun games.

BB guns are widely used in the army for military training as well, particularly among infantry rangers. For this reason, most military units in Bangkok these days have a BB gun game facility, according to Nartbut Suksri, who manages the combat sports venue at the First Infantry Battalion in Bangkok's Lak Si district.

Mr Nartbut said his BB gun facility, which is similar to a paintball game venue, is also open to the public at a cost of 160 baht per session.

Players come from most age groups, ranging from nine to 52.

According to Mr Nartbut, BB guns are effective training tools for those who need to know how to shoot a firearm safely.

He said the Justice Ministry recently hired a team to run a training programme for shooters, including a scheme designed for officials working in the insurgency-prone areas in the southern provinces and also professionals in the ministry's partner organisations such as teachers and doctors.