Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in support of voluntary efforts to phase out the use of lead shot by game hunters in England; and what plans they have, if any, to introduce a requirement to replace the use of lead shot with other materials which do not harm the countryside.

Nine high-profile shooting organisations released a joint statement in 2020 calling for an end to lead in ammunition used for taking live quarry with shotguns within five years. We welcomed this move away from lead and are committed to ensuring a sustainable, mutually beneficial relationship between shooting and conservation. By 2020, the use of lead ammunition in England had already been restricted in specific circumstances by existing legislation– including being prohibited in or over sites of special scientific interest including wetlands.

In spring 2021, Defra asked the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency (EA) to prepare a UK REACH restriction dossier for lead ammunition. The HSE and the EA are considering the evidence of risk posed by lead in ammunition on human health and the environment and, therefore, the case for introducing a UK REACH restriction on lead in ammunition. This process will take approximately two years (from spring 2021), after which the Secretary of State, with the consent of the Scottish and Welsh Ministers, will make a decision on the basis of this review. Further information can be found at:

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