An interesting quote in there:
Scientists at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), ADAS UK, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), and the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) carry out surveys assessing compliance. These organisations studied samples of shot wildfowl alongside member surveys14.
These surveys found that over the winters of 2001/2, 2008/9, 2009/10, and 2013/14 over 70% of ducks sold by game suppliers were shot with lead14,15. Surveys of BASC members found at 45% of respondents admitted they ‘sometimes or never comply’ with lead shot restrictions14. Surveys of live birds in 2010-11 using blood samples also showed that 33% of birds sampled had elevated levels of lead in their blood16.
Either they sampled 70% of all birds sold or they have misrepresented the facts and should have said that a sample was tested and 70% were found to be contaminated with lead. I doubt they checked every duck sold that year which is what they are inferring. This therefore has as much validity as a yougov poll, no statement of the sample source and if any bias was inferred in the question. Extrapolation is as accurate as voodoo and tarot cards. If it was one butcher sampled on one day who's to say that the birds werent all provided by one source and that source was a known lawbreaker?
Totally agree sample size should have been quoted to be valid and who tested the shot for type.
something like this from WJ, hate to say it (again) but WJ are much better than us at these things.
Today a study on the use of lead shot in Pheasant shooting has been released – it has some significant (but not necessarily surprising) results. We’re now three years into a five-year pledge completely to phase out lead shot in UK game hunting, made by nine major UK shooting and rural organisations. The Cambridge study has revealed that in the 2022-23 season 94% of pheasants being sold on supermarket shelves, in butchers and by game dealers were shot using lead.
This is quite clearly a
very small decrease – an average of a 2% reduction per year of the pledge. At this rate of change, it would take the industry another 47 years to phase out the use of lead shot – just a little bit longer than the 5 years they committed to.
The study, undertaken by scientists at University of Cambridge and published in
Conservation Evidence Journal can be read here. A team of 17 volunteers scoured shops, butchers and game dealers for Pheasant in late 2022 and early 2023; they managed to round up 356 carcasses. Of these, 235 contained embedded shotgun pellets. These pellets were then analysed in a laboratory to determine the main metal present – in 94% of them, this was lead.
There has been a (very) small improvement in these figures; the same analysis carried out in 2020-21, and 2021-22 found that over 99% of pheasants were shot with lead. That said, a decrease of 6% goes to show that phasing out lead voluntarily simply isn’t working fast enough.
We’ve spoken about
lead contamination of game meat, and it’s detrimental impact on human health, several times in the past few years. Lead is a known toxin which accumulates with repeated exposure; it can cause health issues in adults, and has neurological effects on babies and children.
The pledge to go lead-free was made
back in 2020 by a consortium of organisations including Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), Countryside Alliance and British Game Assurance (BGA) amongst others. It called on members, supporters and shooters to voluntarily switch to an alternative and non-toxic type of shot, such as steel or copper.
This transition should be an easy one. Alternative steel shot is practical, and can be used with most existing shotguns. There’s been plenty of guidance provided by the likes of GWCT and others, who’ve actively encouraged their community to adopt alternatives, since they made their commitment back in 2020. Other countries have had great success with a switch; Denmark’s shooting community have stopped using lead since it was banned back in 1996. It seems that the lacking factor here isn’t practicality – but a case of will by hunters and shooters.
The sector’s pledge was offered voluntarily, but in the face of mounting pressure from both the public and governing bodies concerned with lead ammunition. Last year the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
consulted on a proposed restriction, even ban, of lead ammunition – which we’re still waiting to hear back about.
The first author of the Cambridge study,
Professor Rhys Green, agrees that the decrease is nowhere near on track to meet a 2025 deadline: “If UK game hunters are going to phase out lead shot voluntarily, they’re not doing very well so far,” he said.
It seems that the five-year pledge may have been an attempt by the industry to get a head-start on the transition, before it was strictly enforced. It seems so far, that head-start has turned into more of a false start.
Today a study on the use of lead shot in Pheasant shooting has been released – it has some significant […]
wildjustice.org.uk
Edit to add Professor Rhys Green is one of the experts advising the HSE on the lead ban !
