Stop lead also in hunting and target shooting ammunition: the European Parliament has finally voted for a definitive stop throughout the EU, thus putting an “end” to one of the major residual sources of lead pollution. This vote is very important but, alone, it is not enough.
Due to its extreme toxicity, lead has long been eliminated from gasoline, paint and plumbing, but, as he reports Bird Life Internationalan international association for the protection of birds, every year over 44,000 tonnes of lead are still dispersed in the EU through hunting, shooting and fishing, heavily contaminating soil and waterways.
Although there have been several attempts to block the Commission’s proposal (put forward by groups ‘European Conservatives and Reformists’ – ECR e ‘Patriots for Europe’ – PfE), the final vote on 8 October ended without any objection being approved.
The measure adds to the ban on lead shot in wetlands, which has been in place in all 27 EU member states since 15 February 2023 and will now ban lead shot everywhere – including settings outside of wetlands and shooting sports, completing last summer’s vote to limit the use of lead in fishing tackle.
The ban will be applied throughout the EU, in the European Economic Area and in Northern Ireland, but the transition period goes from three to seven years and above all, unfortunately, the restriction concerns exclusively lead shotgun pellets: lead bullets have in fact been removed from the Commission’s proposal”.
Hunting pellets, small metal spheres contained inside shotgun cartridges, used mainly for hunting small game and birds, however represent the main source of lead pollution deriving from ammunition.
In fact, a shotgun cartridge releases tens or hundreds of tiny pellets which disperse over a large surface, falling onto fields, woods, lakes and rivers. And it is impossible to recover them: so everything is dispersed in the soil and in waterways, and many birds, used to ingesting small pebbles to aid in the grinding of food, mistake the pellets for such stones (just one pellet is enough to poison a bird).
This is an important step towards a pollution-free Europe. However, the battle is not over yet. During the seven-year transition period, hunters and sport shooters will have to effectively switch to non-toxic alternatives, while national authorities will have to enforce the restriction in the field. BirdLife will continue to call for the restriction to be extended to lead bullets as well
We are now awaiting publication of the restriction in the Official Journal of the European Union and the petition launched by the #Banleadnow campaign can still be signed. But the world will be a better place, in reality, if hunting is banned everywhere forever.
