Lead ban stymied by Czechs

A move to ban lead shot across the EU has been thwarted. The proposed regulations would have banned any use or possession of lead shot within 100 metres of any body of water or wetland. The move could have had ramifications for shooting within the UK.

Last-minute representations by delegates from the Czech Republic stymied the move as an online vote approached. The Czech Republic, which has a strong hunting tradition, asked for the rules to be referred back to the REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) committee, thereby preventing the vote from taking place. The committee is not expected to reconvene until next year.

The move, however, is only likely to delay the measures being implemented, not stop them altogether, though shooting groups will hope for some favourable modifications.

Conor O’Gorman of BASC said: “A ban on lead shot over wetlands makes sense, but not with an unworkable broad definition of wetlands proposed that would cover anything from temporary puddles of water on clay grounds to every moorland in the UK.”

The European Commission asked the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) five years ago to prepare proposals to restrict the use of lead shot over wetlands.