Lead ammunition review extended by 6 months after 'overwhelming response'

[Conor O'Gorman]

@Rewulf sorry, I thought I had answered your question, and to be exact about it - we had no prior knowledge of the Defra announcement of a lead ammunition review on 23 March 2021.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/plans-announced-to-phase-out-lead-ammunition-in-bid-to-protect-wildlife

[rbrowning2]

3 hours ago, Rewulf said:

Some issues with the info in the link/survey.

The University  team recovered pellets from 235  out of 356 birds, and used analysis of these to decide how many birds were shot with lead, what of the other birds ?
Did a top level university not have the means to test meat from the other birds for lead particles ?

What if the other 121 birds were shot with steel and they passed through, or steel was recovered in preparation.
Just strikes me as unscientific.

Also certain comments reveal a definite bias at work, and some clear inaccuracies .'

from wild justice, so did the other 121 die of fright, or steel shot passing straight through them? Two years to go before we fall over the cliff edge, Voluntary transition was always going to fail and no position of strength in any negotiations with regards a legal lead ban.

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.

 

 

[Rewulf]

36 minutes ago, Conor O'Gorman said:

@Rewulf sorry, I thought I had answered your question, and to be exact about it - we had no prior knowledge of the Defra announcement of a lead ammunition review on 23 March 2021.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/plans-announced-to-phase-out-lead-ammunition-in-bid-to-protect-wildlife

Thank you Conor, I will of course take you on your word, but dont you find statements like this....

'Shooting organisations are also supportive of transitioning away from the use of lead ammunition and are working with government to bring this about.'

 ... Some what troubling ?
It doesnt say lead 'shot' , it says lead ammunition.

I also find it a little err, convenient , that BASC et al , announce their 'voluntary phase out' in Feb 2020, and little over a year later the government announce an inquiry into banning all sporting uses of lead , coincidence ?

At the time of the of the announcement , lost in the furore of covid panic, you clearly stated that shooting, without lead shot, could easily survive, as the cartridge manufacturers were on board, but... they really werent.

https://www.fieldsportschannel.tv/steelyourself/

[Scully]

Have just fired off a second response to the survey regarding lead shot found in game, stressing the point that this ‘voluntary phase out’ is an organisational policy and not necessarily one which members agree with as none were consulted. 
Will let you know if I get a reply. 

[Gas seal]

 

The pellets recovered from 235 of the pheasants purchased were tested. Approximately one third of the pheasants must have no pellets in the meat, to many for the pellets to pass through all of them. More likely the pellets were removed by the meat processor, more so if they were shot with steel pellets. This would make the test unreliable.

[Vince Green]

On 08/01/2023 at 17:20, Old farrier said:

Not a member of the nra but it’s a bit of a shame that was the response of the organisation 🙄

I got a sense that a lot of target shooters thought it didn't apply to them.

In fact it has been said to me directly by people I know. The belief is its a game shooting issue

[enfieldspares]

19 hours ago, Gas seal said:

 

The pellets recovered from 235 of the pheasants purchased were tested. Approximately one third of the pheasants must have no pellets in the meat, to many for the pellets to pass through all of them. More likely the pellets were removed by the meat processor, more so if they were shot with steel pellets. This would make the test unreliable.

And was this lead and non lead test done with a magnet? For the test for bismuth is quite complicated to do and not at all easy. So, again, where has been the question of HOW that test was performed?

[harkom]

Rewulf, you missed out the bottom line of your synopsis on COG  - his BSAC appointment is just a job, with perks, etc - so he will follow the party line .....and perhaps even buy into it if he is ..er....over to you.

[Scully]

1 hour ago, enfieldspares said:

And was this lead and non lead test done with a magnet? For the test for bismuth is quite complicated to do and not at all easy. So, again, where has been the question of HOW that test was performed?

You can respond to the editors of this survey by clicking on the link in the OP’s post, and let them know what you think. 

Just now, Scully said:

You can respond to the editors of this survey by clicking on the link in the OP’s post, and let them know what you think. 

No you can’t, I’m on the wrong thread! 😂

Sorry, it’s been a long day! 

[Piers Austin]

I have said this before, but the production of steel shot has a bigger Carbon footprint than the production of lead shot. This is because of the higher melting point of iron plus more mechanical processes down the line to get to pellets. There are other components too such as transport across the globe etc. This fact will cause more harm and suffering to the planet and humanity than if we just continued using lead!! This is because of the higher contribution to global warming and the associated natural disasters going to occur.

Secondly, as I understand it we should only use steel shot if the shot game etc is sold to a game dealer and ends up the the (supermarket) food chain. If we shoot game or pigeons etc to consume ourselves or to give away to friends, we can still use lead for ever. 
As we know, we don’t eat or prepare badly shot birds, for good examples if there is a pellet hole, dig out the shot and finally if we encounter a pellet in our mouths, spit it out. Very rarely do we ingest any. Now I believe there are kitchen type metal detectors so anyone really concerned can give their meat a quick scan! 

I do support however the ban on the use of lead shot over wetlands, where reportedly many wild bird deaths occur from the ingestion of lead shot. 
 

Will anyone take any notice of this? I doubt it. 
 

Cheers all.