Taking responsibility on lead shot

Countryside Alliance Chief Executive Tim Bonner writes: A measure of how desperate the RSPB and Wildfowl and Wetland Trust have become in their obsessive pursuit of a ban on all lead ammunition is the fact that they now rely almost exclusively on unproven claims about its impact on human health, despite that being outside the remit of both of their charitable objectives.

The one area where there is evidence of a potentially negative impact of the use of lead in shotgun cartridges is in wetlands where wildfowl can pick up shot which is then broken down in their digestive system. That is why the use of lead ammunition to shoot wildfowl was prohibited in England and Wales in 1999 and 2002 (there are slightly different regulations in Scotland and Northern Ireland). Some other European countries have been unfortunately slow in implementing similar legislation, and there is also some evidence which suggests that the restrictions are not always being adhered to in England and Wales. Whilst we continue to encourage all countries to implement sensible restrictions on the use of lead ammunition in wetlands resolving that issue is largely beyond our control. We must all, however, take responsibility for ensuring that the regulations in the UK are adhered to, and that they are seen to be.

The Alliance has teamed up with BASC and the police to remind all shooters to comply with the very simple laws on the use of lead ammunition, because those who do not put the future use of lead ammunition for all purposes at risk. I am a wildfowler and am confident that the zero tolerance approach adopted by my club, like others around the country, means that compliance is 100%. Everyone else, from commercial shoots to rough shooters, needs to adopt the same attitude.

Simon Prince, chief constable of Dyfed-Powys Police, who is the national police lead for rural crime, has made the situation very clear saying: "We believe that there are still some members of the public who, whether knowingly or through a lack of understanding of the law, are using lead ammunition to shoot wildfowl in England and Wales. The law is simple: it is illegal to use lead ammunition to shoot wildfowl. Anyone who does so, risks a fine of £1,000 and a criminal conviction." Please make sure that everyone you shoot with gets this message.

Follow Tim Twitter @CA_TimB