Sound moderators could be removed from their current status of “firearm” sooner than previously anticipated after a positive session in the House of Lords on 19 November 2025. 

An amendment to deregulate sound moderators, tabled by Lord Brady of Altrincham (President of the British Shooting Sports Council) and prepared by the Countryside Alliance, received wide, cross-party support from peers when it was considered at the Committee Stage of the Crime and Policing Bill. 

The government said in its response to the amendment:  

“removing these items from the legal definition of a ‘firearm’ would alleviate the administrative burden on the police firearms licensing departments. And because they are entirely inert objects containing no moving parts, they do not, of themselves, create a risk to public safety.” 

Going on to say that it will “undertake to update [Lord Brady] ahead of Report Stage.” This suggests that the government will engage in the matter of deregulating sound moderators ahead of the next parliamentary step of the Bill. This aligns with the government’s June 2025 proposal to deregulate sound moderators “when parliamentary time allows” - we have found that time. 

Short of the government agreeing to act on the amendment there and then, this should be seen as a very good outcome, with pragmatism and common sense coming to the fore and with the amendment receiving the support of the Liberal Democrat and Conservative parties as well.  

In the coming weeks the Countryside Alliance will be engaging with parliamentarians, civil servants, police and British Shooting Sports Council seeking to come together to work on the next steps. This positive response could mean that deregulation of sound moderators, with all of its benefits, and without any negatives, could happen in the near future, rather than continuing to wallow in the dreaded and indefinite mire of “when parliamentary time allows”. 

It is vital that we keep pressure on the government to deliver this policy that they have promised as soon as possible. The government said that it wants to do this; the Campaign for Shooting will encourage them to follow through with it, and in timely fashion.