Shooting organisations campaign for compliance with the law on lead sh

[Simon Clarke]

BRITISH shooting and country land management organisations have come together to launch a campaign to remind individuals to comply with the law on the use of lead shot. In England, it has been illegal to use lead shot over all foreshore, specified Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and for the shooting of all wildfowl wherever they occur, since 1999; and in Wales since 2004. In Scotland and Northern Ireland it is illegal to use lead shot over wetlands.

Although compliance is strong around the coast where wildfowling clubs regulate their members, evidence from other studies suggests regular non-compliance by some inland duck shoots in England and Wales. Organisations, which include the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, the Country Land and Business Association, the Countryside Alliance, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, the Moorland Association, the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation and the Union of Country Sports Workers, are concerned that this might encourage moves towards further restrictions on the use of lead shot. The campaign is therefore being run to remind all those who shoot of their responsibilities before the duck and goose shooting season opens on the 1st September. The organisations will be working through the umbrella organisation FACE UK, which represents game shooting in Europe.

BASC chief executive Richard Ali said: “Everyone who shoots has a responsibility to obey the law. This is especially important for shoot owners, managers and keepers to bear in mind when they organise duck shooting.”

Barney White-Spunner, executive chairman of the Countryside Alliance said “The improper use of lead shot should not be tolerated, and compliance with current legislation is essential if there are not to be further restrictions on the use of lead shot for shooting game in the United Kingdom”. ENDS

Joint statement on compliance with the law on the use of non-lead ammunition.

The use of lead shot over all foreshore, specified Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and for the shooting of all ducks and geese, coot, and moorhen, wherever they occur, has been illegal in England since November 1999. The Welsh Assembly imposed restrictions on lead shot, based closely on the English approach, in September 2002. Scottish legislation differs from that in England and Wales in that since 2004 it has been illegal to use lead shot to shoot any species or target, including game and clays, over wetlands. Similar restrictions banning the use of lead shot over wetlands were introduced in Northern Ireland in September 2009. In Scotland and Northern Ireland it is permissible to use lead shot to shoot any species outside wetlands.

All members of the shooting community are legally bound to comply with the lead shot regulations, and to ensure that only non-lead shot is used wherever lead shot is banned under those regulations. It is the responsibility of every individual gun to comply with the law, whoever the ultimate consumer will be, and to make certain that lead shot is not used illegally. Its improper use cannot be tolerated. Compliance with the current restrictions is critical if there is not to be a further restriction, or a complete ban, on the use of lead for shooting in the United Kingdom.

The organisations listed below jointly agree to make every effort to ensure compliance with the lead shot regulations in the United Kingdom. As joint signatories of the Code of Good Shooting Practice, they have already called for non-lead shot only to be used during any game or rough shooting that might otherwise result in spent lead shot being deposited into wetland areas used by feeding waterfowl.