Illegally shot ducks confirm lead poisoning still a serious problem for wetland wildlife
A report published today confirms that the law aimed at stopping toxic lead from poisoning water birds is not working.
The study – published on the Defra website – found that 70% of wild ducks bought in England had been illegally shot with lead.
Environmental Protection Regulations 1999 made it illegal to shoot water birds with lead or to use lead shot over wetlands.
In investigating the lack of compliance with the law, the study uncovered a widely-held belief amongst shooters that lead shot is not a significant problem.
Spent lead shot is eaten by water birds as food or for grit and causes severe poisoning. It is one of the biggest causes of death and suffering among this group of birds, estimated to kill one in 12 wildfowl in Europe. WWT calls on the government to take urgent action to ensure that the risk of lead poisoning in water birds is substantially reduced A Defra-funded investigation of compliance with regulations aimed at preventing lead poisoning in wildlife in England has found that the law is still not working.
Since 1999 shooting various species of waterbirds, and over certain wetlands with lead gunshot in England has been illegal. However, as part of the Defra-funded study, researchers found that 70% of ducks purchased from English game dealers, butchers and supermarkets had been shot illegally with lead.
The study concluded that amongst those supplying game dealers and retail outlets, compliance with the law on lead shot1 is poor. A similar level of non-compliance was found in a smaller study conducted by the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) and RSPB in 2002 indicating that there has been no improvement in the situation since that time.
Lead is highly toxic and the regulations were introduced to reduce unnecessary deaths and suffering of waterfowl from ingested lead shot poisoning. Spent lead shot in the environment can be ingested by waterbirds mistaking it for food or for grit which they need to aid their digestion. The disease is one of the most significant causes of mortality and suffering for waterfowl including globally threatened species. This has prompted action across the world to prevent lead shot falling into wetlands. As a signatory to the African Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), the UK was committed to phasing out use of lead shot over wetlands by 2000.
The Defra-funded study was conducted by WWT with the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) being contracted to survey both shooters, and providers of shooting through the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), as representatives of the landowners. Results indicated that although there was relatively good understanding of the spirit of the law, up to 45% of respondents admitted to not always complying with the law.
Survey responses included the belief that lead poisoning was not a sufficient problem to justify the regulations, and there were perceived issues surrounding availability, cost and efficiency of the alternatives to lead, together with a lack of enforcement of the regulations. These perceptions persist despite some shooting organisations working hard to persuade members of the shooting community to address the problem including promoting information about the regulations and the alternative range of shot types available.
WWT calls on the government to take urgent action to ensure that the risk of lead poisoning in waterbirds is substantially reduced by ensuring that lead gunshot is no longer used over wetlands or for shooting waterfowl and that the UK honours its international commitments under AEWA.
WWT welcomes the Lead Ammunition Group, a strategic panel convened by Defra and the Food Standards Agency in recognition of the problem of lead poisoning and the issues surrounding lead ammunition. The group will review research findings and advise Government on the impacts of lead ammunition on wildlife and human health. The group is due to report in summer of 2011.
