More than 10,000 firearms have been bought by New Zealand’s government in less than a month as part of its gun buyback scheme following the Christchurch mosque shootings in March.
The shooter bought the weapons for the killings legally in New Zealand, despite experts initially suspecting they had been acquired on the blackmarket.
Since then, 10,242 firearms have been handed into police, with an additional 1,269 firearms handed in under amnesty.
Ninety gun collection events have been held around the country, New Zealand police said, attended by more than 7,000 firearms owners.
In a statement New Zealand police praised gun owners’ engagement with the process, and said they were “really happy” with the public response.
Unlike the US where the right to self-protection if often quoted, the majority of New Zealand gun owners say they own weapons for sport, recreation and hunting.
The total number of firearms in New Zealand is estimated to be between 1.2m and 1.5m, and gun owners of now-prohibited weapons have until 20 December to hand in their weapons. »