Tackling lead ammunition poisoning

Up to 100,000 waterbirds in the UK and one million in Europe die every year through ingesting poisonous lead shot. But it’s not just birds that it harms.

A true One Health issue

When billions of individual lead shotgun pellets are left to contaminate our wetland and terrestrial habitats, they leave a toxic legacy for our environment, wildlife and people.

It’s hard to think of a better example of a One Health issue – the term used by the World Health Organisation for issues that affect environments, people and animals – than the poisoning caused by lead ammunition worldwide.

The problem

In the UK, more than 7,000 tonnes of lead ammunition is discharged into the environment every year. Birds often mistake tiny shot pellets for grit or seeds, and eat them. Dead and dying birds are usually taken quickly by predators – making their deaths ‘invisible’ to shooters and the wider public alike.

It has taken WWT’s scientific research to discover the extent of the problem in the UK. Our long-term waterbird health surveillance has found 10% were killed by lead poisoning – sometimes with dozens or even hundreds of ingested shot pellets found in their gizzards (a part of their stomach that needs grit to grind their food). Migratory swans like whoopers and Bewick’s were worst affected, with lead poisoning accounting for a quarter of deaths.

The UK shares many migratory swans, ducks and geese with the rest of Europe where it claims the lives of one million waterbirds each year. A further 3 million are estimated to suffer ill health from lead poisoning.

Of those that survive, we know that their behaviour, resistance to diseases, mobility and ability to breed are affected. Our research found that nearly half of live whooper swans we tested had worrying lead levels in their blood with 10% of the birds in measurably poor body condition as a result.

The problem affects animals higher up the food chain too. Embedded lead shot and bullet fragments are eaten by birds of prey and other scavengers and predators leading to death directly or indirectly via poorer ability to hunt and find food. From griffon vultures in Spain to sea eagles on British coasts, this source of poisoning has significant impacts on vulnerable populations.

And lead accumulates in the environment contaminating soils, plants and waterbodies finding its way into wider food chains.

Humans are not exempt from lead’s damage. Lead ammunition finds its way onto our plates where it presents risks for people eating lead-shot game meat. Even dogs are exposed to lead in hunting households or via pet food containing this kind of game meat.

The solution

Lead has been banned from petrol, paint and pipes. But in 2025, lead from ammunition is still being scattered into our environment.

The solution is for shooters to use non-poisonous alternatives to lead ammunition, which are available for all types of guns and proven to be equally effective. Many hunters are already using non-toxic ammunition to prevent poisoning the environment, and some food retailers are now only selling lead-free game on health grounds.

But this simply isn’t enough.

There are some restrictions on using lead shot in the UK. However, WWT’s field testing shows the number of birds ingesting lead still hasn’t decreased despite restrictions. This could be because many birds feed in fields where lead shot can still be legally used, or because some shooters are still using it illegally.

In 2020, the shooting sector announced a voluntary transition away from lead ammunition, but four years on, evidence shows this has only had a marginal effect. In March, research led by the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with WWT and other partners, found that 93% of pheasants destined for human consumption were killed using lead ammunition in the 2023/24 season.

Repeated WWT investigations found that around 70% of ducks sold as locally shot in England were illegally shot with lead, and this illegal activity has not improved over time.

It took policy to remove lead from petrol, paint and pipes. And it will take policy to remove lead from ammunition – the last significant source of lead poisoning for wildlife.

We know it’s possible – Denmark has already banned lead ammunition for hunting. It’s time for the UK to follow.