Steven Mace
04-12-2002, 03:10 PM
English lead shot restrictions to be relaxed
By Wesley Stanton
12/04/2002
Shooters will no longer have to reach for non-lead loads when in pursuit of inland Snipe and Golden Plover, the Government has announced. These two quarry species look set to be struck out from the list of birds covered by the lead shot waterfowl ban in time for next season, and there is also going to be a reduction in the total of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) where lead is prohibited for use.
The Government has announced that it will be amending Schedules 1 and 2 of the Environmental Protection (Restriction of the Use of Lead Shot) England) Regulations 1999 after a series of meetings of a review group that included shooting, countryside, gun trade, bird conservation and Government representatives organisations.
The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) has consistently lobbied for the relaxations, saying that the lead shot ban was over-restrictive, as many listed SSSIs were not important for waterfowl, and the inclusion of Snipe and Golden Plover served no useful purpose. There will be a net reduction of some 50 SSSIs where lead is banned.
“BASC fought hard, but unsuccessfully, to prevent the waders and inappropriate sites being included in the original schedules, and since then we and like-minded organisations have continued to argue vigorously for their removal,” said John Harradine, BASC’s Director of Research. “So I am obviously delighted that the Lead Review Group unanimously recommended that these changes should be made and that DEFRA has accepted that.”
The easing of the regulations was also welcomed by the Countryside Alliance (CA).
"These sensible changes are the result of a great deal of hard work by the Countryside Alliance working alongside the other shooting, conservation, countryside and trade organisations represented on the Lead Shot Review Group," said Mark Firth, Chairman of the CA Campaign for Shooting.
"Inclusion of snipe and golden plover in the species list placed an unnecessary restriction on many shooters operating far from the key wetland sites which the regulations were intended to protect. The Review Group unanimously accepted this, and it is good to see that the Government is now changing the law accordingly.
By some peculiar quirk of coincidence, on the same day that the Government announced the regulatory changes, another member of the review group - the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) - chose to announce a report on lead shot compliance, which shows that lead shot is still being used for duck shooting. What it also shows is that not one of the 58 Mallard duck analysed in its study had ingested any lead pellets.
And now the Scottish RSPB has called on the Scottish Executive to adopt a tough policy when it legislates for the use of lead shot on waterfowl – despite its own evidence, reaffirming many other scientific studies, which shows that lead shot isn’t causing any significant levels of poisoning.
http://www.leadshot.com/story.asp?id=524
Steve Mace
By Wesley Stanton
12/04/2002
Shooters will no longer have to reach for non-lead loads when in pursuit of inland Snipe and Golden Plover, the Government has announced. These two quarry species look set to be struck out from the list of birds covered by the lead shot waterfowl ban in time for next season, and there is also going to be a reduction in the total of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) where lead is prohibited for use.
The Government has announced that it will be amending Schedules 1 and 2 of the Environmental Protection (Restriction of the Use of Lead Shot) England) Regulations 1999 after a series of meetings of a review group that included shooting, countryside, gun trade, bird conservation and Government representatives organisations.
The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) has consistently lobbied for the relaxations, saying that the lead shot ban was over-restrictive, as many listed SSSIs were not important for waterfowl, and the inclusion of Snipe and Golden Plover served no useful purpose. There will be a net reduction of some 50 SSSIs where lead is banned.
“BASC fought hard, but unsuccessfully, to prevent the waders and inappropriate sites being included in the original schedules, and since then we and like-minded organisations have continued to argue vigorously for their removal,” said John Harradine, BASC’s Director of Research. “So I am obviously delighted that the Lead Review Group unanimously recommended that these changes should be made and that DEFRA has accepted that.”
The easing of the regulations was also welcomed by the Countryside Alliance (CA).
"These sensible changes are the result of a great deal of hard work by the Countryside Alliance working alongside the other shooting, conservation, countryside and trade organisations represented on the Lead Shot Review Group," said Mark Firth, Chairman of the CA Campaign for Shooting.
"Inclusion of snipe and golden plover in the species list placed an unnecessary restriction on many shooters operating far from the key wetland sites which the regulations were intended to protect. The Review Group unanimously accepted this, and it is good to see that the Government is now changing the law accordingly.
By some peculiar quirk of coincidence, on the same day that the Government announced the regulatory changes, another member of the review group - the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) - chose to announce a report on lead shot compliance, which shows that lead shot is still being used for duck shooting. What it also shows is that not one of the 58 Mallard duck analysed in its study had ingested any lead pellets.
And now the Scottish RSPB has called on the Scottish Executive to adopt a tough policy when it legislates for the use of lead shot on waterfowl – despite its own evidence, reaffirming many other scientific studies, which shows that lead shot isn’t causing any significant levels of poisoning.
http://www.leadshot.com/story.asp?id=524
Steve Mace