LAG publishes the minutes of its inaugural meeting

Lead Ammunition Group (LAG) fulfilled its commitment to distribute freely documents relating to the group when it published the minutes of its inaugural meeting on a specially commissioned website last week.

The minutes revealed that the Group?s time frame for reporting to government was a year from the first meeting held in April and chairman John Swift confirmed that all the main shooting organisations were committed to the principle of the Group.

The document set out the operational structure of the LAG including the need for subgroups.

It was suggested that a subgroup dealing with deer would be required and that the RSPB undertake a programme of deer management every year and may therefore have expertise to offer any subgroup dealing with this issue.

Within the minutes of the first meeting, the only reference to the humane and economic implications of any restrictions on lead shot was the following: The development and marketing of alternatives to lead ammunition including associated risks and performance were also key considerations.

Other documents published on the website include the letter to DEFRA requesting the formation of the group.

Sent in October last year by the RSPB and the Wildlife & Wetlands Trust, it cited the need to consider the evidence about the risk to the health of humans and wildlife caused by the use of lead ammunition.

The Food and Environment Research Agency Review of Evidence Concerning the Contamination of Wildlife and the Environment, which will inform the LAG consultation, was also released.

Of the 300 peer-reviewed articles and government agency reports in the collected evidence, 9% were conducted in the UK.