Thanks
@Robs
BASC and the other shooting organisations will need to fight for exemptions if these uses of lead ammunition were targeted or caught up in a general ban. It could be argued that these uses cause negligible risks to wildlife, people or the environment.
The focus of the shooting organisations for the last two years has been encouraging a voluntary transition away from the use of lead and single-use plastics in shotgun ammunition for live quarry shooting.
Meanwhile, in the EU there have been policy developments for various restrictions on lead ammunition for live quarry and target shooting under the EU REACH regulations. And last year a similar process to the one happening in the EU began in the UK under post-Brexit UK REACH regulations.
For the UK REACH regulations process (which is new and looks at lead ammunition and substances in ink tattoos and permanent make-up) the key issue at this stage of the process is whether or not the recreational outdoor use of lead ammunition in England, Wales or Scotland causes such a risk to wildlife, people or environment that it warrants restrictions.
The evidenced risks are as follows:
Wildlife
Over 2,000 tonnes of lead ammunition is shot into the UK countryside annually, including many billions of individual pieces of lead shot for live quarry shooting.
Unfortunately, many species of birds pick up this lead shot mistaking it as grit. The lead shot grinds in their acidic gizzards and toxic lead salts are absorbed into the blood stream and find their way into the tissues of vital organs. Death occurs in a few days or weeks depending on how much lead shot a bird eats.
Raptors and bird/mammalian scavengers are also poisoned to varying degrees when they consume carcasses or live prey that contain traces of lead ammunition.
According to the science up to 100,000 birds die in the UK annually as a direct result of poisoning from lead ammunition.
People
I have never heard of cases of people dying from swallowing pieces of lead shot or eating lots of lead-contaminated game meat. The evidenced impacts are more subtle than that and are now better understood by scientists and can unfortunately cause underlying health issues for some of us.
When we eat game meat contaminated with lead ammunition we absorb some of that lead in our blood, tissue and bone.
X-ray and chemical studies of large and small game shot with lead ammunition reveal that lead contamination is much more extensive than just the wound channel and most of it cannot be detected by eye.
Due to hormonal changes during pregnancy, lead that has been stored in the skeleton is released into the blood, exposing both mother and foetus. As a result, high levels of lead in mothers' bones have been identified as a risk factor for impaired mental development in infants.
Developing brains exposed to low levels of lead are at risk for attention-related behavioural problems, decreased cognitive performance, and increased incidence of problem behaviours.
This is why the Food Standards Agency advises against frequent consumption of lead-shot game by toddlers, children, pregnant women and women trying for a baby.
For adults there is growing evidence around lead exposure and associated increased risk of lung, stomach, and urinary-bladder cancer. For lead ammunition the exposure comes from traces of lead ammunition ingested when using firearms and eating lead-contaminated game meat.
Environment
Studies on the impact of lead ammunition on the wider environment (i.e. soil, water, plants) have focused on outdoor shooting ranges where a high concentration of use takes place on relatively small areas of land and that is perceived as a cause for concern.
Heightened lead concentrations in the soils of shooting ranges have found associated risks with elevated lead levels in plants, surface water and groundwater. However, whether or not this subsequently results in elevated lead levels in wildlife, livestock and people is not well understood and requires further research.
Mixed views
On the one hand there are people in the shooting community who despite two years of discussion and information are still in denial that there is any evidence whatsoever of any adverse impact from lead ammunition and that it’s all a conspiracy against shooting.
At the other end of the spectrum are the likes of RSPB, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and others who believe that the shooting community is deliberately procrastinating and that the ammunition manufacturers can magically produce non-lead ammunition of every type and quantity needed at the drop of a hat.
The middle ground, as I perceive it, is that most of us are reasonable and accept that some restrictions might be justified but that they should only come into effect when effective and affordable alternatives for our shooting disciplines are available in the volumes required.
I think most of us want to do the right thing but we have valid concerns about finding non-lead alternatives that perform well for our individual shooting interests; that our guns will not be damaged; and for live quarry shooting that the ammunition we use ensures a humane kill.
) you will see 2 pure lead bullets cast by myself. One is unfired the other has been shot at ballistics gelatine (I have access to this as a consequence of my job).
