Non-toxic shot must be used on Forestry Service leases from April 2023

Forest Service Northern Ireland have written to holders of shooting licence agreements to inform them that non-toxic ammunition is to be used in all shooting activities on Forest Service land from 1 April 2023, and that licence agreements will be updated to reflect this position.

All lease holders must confirm in writing that they will use non-toxic ammunition during the remaining period of the licence agreement. All replies should be with Forest Service before Friday 10 March 2023.

These changes reflect compliance and conformance requirements of the UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS) revision which is planned to be launched in April 2023. As you may be aware, UKWAS is the standard at which our sustainable forest management practices are verified against by an independent audit process.

A Pre-approval Draft of the UKWAS 5^th Edition gained national-level approval following more than two years of work.

The draft prepared by a multi-stakeholder working group was approved at national level by the UKWAS steering group and has been submitted to FSC UK and PEFC UK who are responsible for preparing the documentation required to achieve approval / endorsement at international level.

Page 91 of the UKWAS 5^th edition states: