Chris Packham’s anti-grouse statement could be considered ill-timed, coming as it does in the very week that the Government has stated there there will be no ban on lead ammunition. The presenter said: “Marks and Spencer and Iceland, should you choose to sell grouse this year, I won’t be eating any…
Lead shot
No ban on lead ammunition
In a letter dated 12 July to John Swift, the Chair of the Lead Ammunition Group, Liz Truss MP said their report “did not show that the impacts of lead ammunition were significant enough to justify changing current policy.” There will therefore be no ban on lead ammunition. BASC have…
BASC to fight global ban on lead ammunition
BASC is fighting plans by members of a global conservation organisation to impose a worldwide ban on lead. A motion tabled ahead of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) world congress demands that lead should be replaced with “non-toxic alternatives”. Any decision on Motion 090 would not immediately…
What’s coming up in 2016 for the shooting and countryside community?
Lindsay Waddell, chairman of the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation If the past is any sort of indicator of the future, 2016 will be a busy year for the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO). The list of major issues that might alter how we go about our jobs grows ever longer by the day.…
There is “more lead in beer than game meat,” say MPs
In a debate on lead ammunition in the House of Commons last month, Rishi Sunak, Conservative MP for Richmond, commented: “The average consumer is exposed to 60 per cent more lead from their consumption of beer. Products contributing more lead to our diets than game meat include potatoes, coffee and even everyday eggs.…
Shooters dismiss claims eating game lowers IQ
Countryside organisations have hit back at claims that eating game meat can lower a child’s IQ level. The claims relating to the negative impact of lead consumption on human health were made in a recently published report detailing the findings of last year’s Oxford Lead Symposium. The section, Risks of health…
BASC strongly refutes renewed claims of lead ammunition risks
Researchers attending the Oxford Symposium on Lead ammunition have published a report stating that evidence now supports a ban. Several conclusions were drawn from the report, which used findings from studies carried out by conservation groups including the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) and the RSPB. The WWT says that…
European firearms legislation changes “could damage shooting” in Britain
Countryside organisations have warned that revisions to EU firearms legislation could lead to shooting being hamstrung by those opposed to the sport. The European Council earlier this month recommended that the European Commission revise the 1991 Firearms Directive to combat the illegal movement of firearms, and it is thought that…
Lead Ammunition Group slammed after leak of “anti-lead” report summary
The Lead Ammunition Group (LAG) has been criticised for a perceived anti-lead bias, following the publication on its website of a letter from group chairman John Swift, summarising the findings of the as-yet unpublished or peer-reviewed LAG report. The correspondence is a copy of the cover letter, dated June 2015,…
Shooters reject Weetabix claims on lead shot contamination
Shooting groups have questioned comments by Weetabix’s head of quality Keith Turnbull, warning farmers to avoid contaminating wheat grain with lead shot. In an article for the Combinable Crops & Sugar Beet Newsletter, Mr Turnbull said he receives wheat containing lead shot. He urged farmers to “stop this contamination occurring…
Shooting groups write new lead ammunition report
A second report on the possible health risks posed by the use of lead ammunition was submitted to DEFRA two weeks ago, authored by the four organisations that have been most closely involved in the lead ammunition debate. The new 14-page report, which has yet to be made public, suggests that…
Sir Barney White-Spunner quits LAG
Sir Barney White-Spunner has resigned from the Lead Ammunition Group (LAG), citing a “lost confidence” in the group chairman John Swift. The LAG was set up under in April 2010 at the behest of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and the RSPB, to advise Defra on any risks to wildlife,…
Lead ammunition: where’s the science?
No sound evidence, no change” is the firmly held position of every British shooting organisation on lead ammunition. This means that any regulations must first and foremost be supported by absolutely solid scientific evidence. “No change” is all about regulation. Does the evidence point to an incontrovertible need for more…
Updated: Norwegian parliament votes to repeal lead shot ban
The Norwegian parliament today (3 February) resolved by 79 votes to 16 to reintroduce lead shot for live quarry hunting outside wetlands. The decision follows a lengthy campaign by BASC’s sister organisation in Norway the Norwegian Association of Hunters and Anglers – the Jegernes Interesseorganisasjon (JI). BASC chairman Alan Jarrett…
Sir Barney White-Spunner interview
Robert Cuthbert: Have you managed to get out much this season? Sir Barney White-Spunner: “I’ve had a couple of days but not a huge amount. Generally, I shoot around eight to 10 days a year. I’ve shot some lovely partridges in Wiltshire. I really do love shooting partridge on a…
UN lead ammunition recommendations “illiterate” says BASC
Shooting organisations have criticised recommendations for a global phase out of lead ammunition as inappropriate, impractical and lacking a factual basis
Old-school, slower bullets contaminate less meat
Research has shown that though deer shot with lead-cored jacketed bullets do show increased levels of lead, even as far away as the haunches, though it is still less than is found in farmed domestic meat and less than in mussels and other seafood. But there is a way to…
Shooting community signs up to the lead shot campaign
Thousands of shooters sign up at leadshotcampaign.org.uk to show that they support legal use of lead shot for shooting.
Is it legal to use a muzzle-loading gun with lead shot to shoot wildfowl?
Game shooting: I believe the law banning lead shot applies only to shotgun cartridges. Is it therefore legal to use a muzzle-loading gun with lead shot to shoot wildfowl?