We must aim to phase out lead shot
I recently read an article on the subject of banning lead shot which said it is “time to face facts – or we will all face the consequences.”
I agreed, although it is a subject on which many people within the shooting community have a strong view. Many from the older generation will say that they have eaten game all their lives and never had a problem. Owners of older guns would never consider using anything other than lead shot.
We all know that lead is a poisonous heavy metal that no longer features in pipes, petrol, or paint, so trying to justify its continued use in shotgun cartridges is, in my opinion, impossible. There is a call by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust and other shooting organisations for lead shot to be phased out within five years, although the cartridge manufacturers have argued that this is too soon.
However, they are making huge advances with alternatives such as steel and copper.
Some supermarkets have a policy of only selling game shot with lead-free cartridges. Unless lead is phased out soon then the market for game could collapse and, with it, much of the justification for shooting.
Charlotte Marrison is Shropshire branch chairman, GWCT
