December 2023
Dear Constituent,
Thank you for contacting me about the use of lead ammunition.
Evidence shows lead can be poisonous to animals and between 50,000 to 100,000 wildfowl die every year from ingesting lead from used pellets and many more birds suffer and die through secondary poisoning.
The Government supports the principle of further regulation to address the impact of lead ammunition. In spring 2021, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs asked the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency to prepare a UK REACH restriction dossier for lead ammunition.
In producing the dossier, both organisations considered the evidence of risk posed by lead in ammunition on human health and the environment and the case for phasing out most uses of lead ammunition, including potential derogations for use in strictly controlled environments such as target shooting, where control measures are in place. I will continue to monitor this issue closely.
Finally, I am aware that nine high-profile shooting organisations came together in 2020 to call for the end of using lead and single-use plastics in ammunition for live quarry shooting with shotguns within five years. The Government welcomed this move away from lead and is committed to ensuring a sustainable, mutually beneficial relationship between shooting and conservation.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Best wishes,
Angela Richardson MP
Member of Parliament for Guildford, Cranleigh and our villages