Minutes of the latest meeting of the Lead Ammunition Group indicate that the Code of Good Shooting Practice may be changed so it recommends the use of non-lead shot.
Much of the discussion at the meeting on 25 June centred on the issue of mitigation – in other words, how to minimise lead’s effect on the environment and encourage compliance with existing regulations.
The group speculated that compliance could be improved, and heard that shooting organisations were planning a series of articles in the shooting press to help bring this about. Countryside Alliance chairman Barney White-Spunner undertook to recommend changes to shooting’s code of practice to make “direct and specific recommendations” on lead alternatives.
The minutes state: “It was agreed that non-compliance bears on the effectiveness or possible effectiveness of measures that might be recommended to mitigate known or identified risks. The shooting organisations’ commitment to self-regulation means they have the direct interest to promote effective compliance and the LAG has a direct interest to keep progress under review.”
The meeting concluded by discussing the possibility of a Lead Ammunition Group forum, which would be held on 10-11 December at the University of Oxford.
The group will meet again once its mitigation subgroup has completed its mitigation action plans. A final report is still expected before the parliamentary term ends in 2015.
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