Lead ban - the Health and Safety Executive's final proposals

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have published their final proposals on the restriction of lead in ammunition in England, Wales and Scotland, which will now be considered by the Government. These final proposals are the result of a series of public consultations over the last few years, and one of the key components is the five-year transition period for the restriction of lead shot for almost all forms of shotgun shooting. This is the transition period the Countryside Alliance had been lobbying for, as the 18-month transition initially proposed by HSE would not have allowed cartridge manufacturers to meet fully the demand of game and clay pigeon shooters in the context of a world with supply chains disrupted by war and pandemic. It is thanks to a number of countryside and shooting organisations calling for voluntary transition away from the use of lead shot for live quarry shooting by 2025 that we are also ahead of the game, with a number of viable and effective non-lead cartridges with biodegradable wads now available, putting game shooting on the front foot for long-term sustainability. HSE’s final proposals are as follows:

Shotgun ammunition for live quarry and target shooting

• The sale and use of lead shot is to be banned, with a transition period of five years. There is a derogation for some elite level clay pigeon shooters.

Rifle ammunition for live quarry shooting

• The use of lead bullets of .243 calibre and above for live quarry shooting is to be banned, with a three-year transition period. For calibres smaller than .243, no restrictions are proposed, although bullets will need to be labelled for live quarry or target shooting after the three-year transition period.

Airguns for live quarry or target shooting

• No restrictions proposed.

Humane dispatch

• No proposed derogation, i.e. sale and use of lead ammunition will be restricted as for shotguns and rifles when used for live quarry shooting.

Target shooting with rifles

• Ranges that are able to remove lead from the range in line with NRA guidance may continue to use lead ammunition. Ranges that are unable to conform to that practice after two years must move to used non-lead ammunition only.

Other exemptions

• Ammunition can be placed on the market as “not to be fired” for places such as museums. 

For full details of HSE’s final proposals, please click here. 

The Countryside Alliance continues to advocate all game shooters to transition away from the use of lead cartridges to non-lead alternatives as soon as they are able. The London proof house has provided guidance on what non-lead loads are safe to put through your guns. A synopsis would be that standard steel cartridges can be put through a gun nitro-proofed after 1954 (they used a different method for proofing before this), tight on the action with chokes that are ½ or less. High Performance Steel cartridges can only be put through guns stamped with the Fleur de Lys proof mark. If you’re unsure about whether or not steel shot can be put through your gun, it’s best to ask your gunsmith. 

Steel shot has been shown to be lethal and effective, as many who have tried it will know. It is worth giving it a go this season. It can be used with confidence to great effect. If you cannot put any form of steel shot through your gun, then there are other non-lead alternative, such as bismuth, although they are somewhat more expensive.  

The ban on lead ammunition will be the biggest change to shooting in the UK for 150 years. The sector has been preparing for this transition and there are now effective and affordable non-lead alternatives for almost all game shooting and wildlife management. The five-year transition period is, however, necessary as scaling production of non-lead ammunition remains a challenge not least because of the knock on effects on the industry of conflicts in Ukraine and elsewhere. 

Many game shooters and deer managers have already moved to non-lead alternatives and in five years’ time all game birds and almost all deer shot in the UK will be free of all lead residue and lead will no longer be being deposited in the countryside as a result of such shooting. Game shooting and wildlife management create enormous environmental benefits, as well as their economic and social impact. The removal of lead from shooting will confirm the status of game shooters and wildlife managers amongst the foremost conservationists in the UK.  

These proposals do not apply to Northern Ireland.