EU lead shot ban on track after European Parliament rejects attempts to block it
The European Parliament has rejected two attempts to block an EU-wide ban on lead gunshot, clearing the way for a rule that conservationists say will protect around 135 million birds at risk of lead poisoning.
The European Parliament has rejected two attempts to block an EU-wide ban on lead gunshot, putting the restriction on track for final adoption, BirdLife Europe reported after the 8 October plenary vote. Once in force, it will ban lead shot for hunting and sport shooting everywhere, after a seven-year transition period.
Two objections failed in committee and in plenary
The objections were tabled by members of the European Conservatives and Reformists and Patriots for Europe groups. One was defeated in the Parliament's environment committee earlier in the week, and both failed in the plenary vote in Strasbourg. The hunters' federation FACE confirmed that no objections were supported.
The Parliament's three-month scrutiny period ended on 10 October. The regulation is expected to be published in the EU's Official Journal in the coming weeks, according to FACE, which represents hunters and had sought changes to the proposal.
About a million birds die from lead poisoning each year
More than 44,000 tonnes of lead are scattered across the EU every year through hunting, sport shooting and fishing, BirdLife says. Birds swallow small pebbles to help grind their food and mistake spent pellets for grit, and a single pellet can be enough to poison a bird.
According to BirdLife, the pollution puts at least 92 bird species at risk and kills about a million birds a year. It says the restriction will protect 135 million birds at risk of poisoning and a million children at risk of exposure, for example through game meat. Species expected to benefit include swans, flamingos, bearded and griffon vultures, golden and white-tailed eagles, red kites and capercaillie.
“We have known for decades that lead poisons birds and people, and today Europe has finally acted on it.” — Marion Bessol, Nature Conservation Policy Officer, BirdLife Europe
Lead bullets are not included
The ban builds on the restriction of lead shot in wetlands, which has applied across all 27 EU member states since February 2023, and will also apply in the European Economic Area and Northern Ireland. During negotiations the transition was extended from three to seven years, and lead bullets and slugs were removed from the proposal. BirdLife says it will keep campaigning for bullets to be included, because scavengers such as vultures are poisoned by fragments in carcasses and gut piles.
Non-toxic alternatives such as steel shot are already widely available. Europe's birds are also being counted closely: volunteers recently tallied 4.8 million migrating birds during EuroBirdwatch.
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