Several shooting organisations proposed a voluntary five-year plan for shooting enthusiasts to phase out the use of lead shotgun ammunition in 2020. A new study reveals that the effort has failed. The majority of shooters have not opted to phase out the use of lead shot when killing red grouse, much to the detriment of both public health and wildlife.
In February 2020, a coalition of shooting and rural organisations put out a statement urging the shooting community to embrace a complete transition away from using lead ammunition to kill live quarry, such as grouse and pheasants, within five years. The coalition, which included the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, the Countryside Alliance, the Moorland Association, and others, wrote:
“This is an opportunity to take the initiative and ensure the reputation of the shooting community, as custodians of the countryside, is both maintained and enhanced.”
Researchers have been tracking the progress of the voluntary phase-out in relation to different targeted birds. Each year, for instance, the Environmental Research Institute’s Shot-Switch Project has analysed pheasant carcasses sold by retailers to determine whether there are reductions in the lead ammunition found in those birds. Its most recent findings concern the 2023/24 shooting season and showed that of the birds who had shot recovered from their carcasses, 93% contained lead shot.
Recently, researchers also published a study on lead shot in red grouse carcasses, which was funded by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Published in the Conservation Evidence Journal, its findings also show woefully inadequate progress on the voluntary phase-out plan.
The phase-out has failed
For their grouse study, researchers purchased 128 bird carcasses from 11 different suppliers. The grouse originated from shoots in Scotland, England’s Northern Pennines, and other unknown locations.
78 of the birds had shotgun pellets – whole or fragmented – in them, amounting to 61% of the carcasses overall. In total, the researchers recovered 142 pellets and large fragments of pellets from the birds. Lead turned out to be the “principal metallic element” in 140 of them.
After removing pellets from the birds’ carcasses, the researchers also tested their meat for concentrations of lead. These tests were conducted in a way to ensure that analysis was done on random samples of meat from the birds, rather than to test meat solely in the vicinity of where the pellets were removed from.
These tests revealed that the meat contained concentrations of lead that were, on average, “substantially higher than is permitted in meat from farmed animals and poultry,” the study said.
The researchers concluded that “the intended voluntary five-year transition has been unsuccessful in relation to red grouse.”
Meanwhile, another paper released in December 2024 revealed that shooters are continuing to use lead shot even in instances where it is illegal.
Using lead shot to kill various waterbirds, such as ducks, geese, swans, and others, has been prohibited for decades. The study tested the carcasses of mallards shot in England during the 2021/22 shooting season to determine how many were illegally killed with lead shot. The researchers found that this was the case for 69% of the mallards who were recently shot. The researchers concluded:
“Legislation and voluntary approaches have not been effective in reducing illegal use of lead shot.”
Damaging impacts
The failure of shooting organisations to spur their community to end the legal and illegal use of lead shot has ramifications for the health of people, wildlife, farmed animals, and companion animals. This is because lead is a toxic metal that is dangerous to consume – at any level.
The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) has investigated the impact of lead shot on waterbirds, due to the animals ingesting pellets that enter the environment. It estimates that as many as 400,000 of these birds “suffer from poisoning every winter in the UK,” with around 50-100,000 of them dying due to lead ammunition poisoning.
A group of nonprofits consisting of WWT, the RSPB, Wild Justice, Wildlife and Countryside Link, and CHEM Trust, wrote about the issue of lead shot in January. They highlighted that hundreds of thousands of other birds are likely poisoned to death by lead each year too, including endangered raptors. In the case of raptors and scavenging birds, they may be poisoned by directly consuming pellets or by eating prey and carrion that have themselves ingested pellets. The group further warned:
“Sub-lethal lead poisoning affects the health and welfare of many more, including impacts on immune capability (essential for fighting diseases such as avian influenza) and reproductive success leading to population level impacts for some species.”
Additionally, farmed animals may ingest lead when feeding on ground that has been shot over, they said. Companion animals who are given food that contains meat from shot birds like pheasants may also be consuming high levels of the metal.
People who eat the meat of shot birds are at risk too. The Food Standards Agency has pointed out that consuming “lead-shot game on a frequent basis can expose consumers to potentially harmful levels of lead.” It highlighted that the risk for children and pregnant women is particularly high because lead exposure “can harm the developing brain and nervous system.” However, the agency said that meat sourced from farmed ‘game’ animals will generally have “no or very low lead levels.”
Considering the lack of progress on the voluntary phase-out of lead shot, and its persistent illegal use, the group of nonprofits mentioned above are calling on the government to bring in a “swift and complete ban on lead ammunition.” They are urging the public to help “make lead history” by calling on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs secretary Steve Reed to end the era of lead for good. If you want to help, you can do so here.
