After decades of scientific evidence and years of campaigning led by BirdLife, the European Parliament has cleared the way for an EU-wide ban on lead gunshot
Just now, the European Parliament have voted to let the ban on lead gunshot go ahead, ending years of debate on one of Europe’s most persistent forms of chemical pollution.
Due to its extreme toxicity, lead was removed from petrol, paint and pipes long ago, yet more than 44,000 tonnes of lead are still scattered across the EU every year through hunting, sport shooting and fishing, heavily contaminating soils and waterways. Today Europe took a decisive step towards ending it.
The vote today stopped two attempts to block the Commission’s proposal, tabled by members of the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) and Patriots for Europe Group (PfE). One was defeated in the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Committee on Monday and both in today’s plenary vote, which puts the restriction on track for final adoption.
Once in force, this restriction will ban lead gunshot everywhere, including outside of wetlands and sport shooting, with a seven-year transition period. It will be applied across the EU, the European Economic Area, and Northern Ireland.
It builds on the ban on lead shot in wetlands, which has applied across all 27 EU Member States since 15 February 2023. Today’s decision extends that protection to the rest of the landscape. It also follows the Parliament’s vote earlier this summer to restrict lead in fishing tackle, so that the main ways lead still enters Europe’s environment through hunting, shooting and angling are now being closed off together.
This pollution puts at least 92 bird species at risk and kills approximately 1 million birds every year. Thanks to this restriction, 135 million birds at risk of poisoning and 1 million children at risk of exposure in the EU will be protected.
Species set to benefit include:
- Waterbirds: Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Mute Swan (Cygnus olor), Bewick’s Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii) and Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)
- Vultures: Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) and Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus)
- Eagles and other raptors: Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Red Kite (Milvus milvus) and Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
- Corvids: Common Raven (Corvus corax)
- Gamebirds: Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix), Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix) and Western Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus)
- Mammals: Brown Bear (Ursus arctos), which is exposed through gut piles
Scientists have known for more than 30 years that lead is highly toxic to wildlife and people, and that there is no safe level of exposure. BirdLife and its Partners across Europe have pushed for a comprehensive EU ban for much of that time, through scientific evidence, policy advocacy and public campaigning, including the #BanLeadNow campaign and a petition signed by more than 60,000 citizens. [1]
The restriction covers lead gunshot only. Lead bullets were removed from the Commission’s proposal, and BirdLife will keep campaigning for them to be restricted too. [2]
Gunshot is still the largest source of lead pollution from ammunition. A shotgun cartridge releases dozens or hundreds of tiny pellets, which spread over a wide area and fall into fields, forests, lakes and rivers. They cannot be cleaned up, and over time they work their way into the soil and waterways. Many birds swallow small pebbles to help them grind their food, and they mistake the pellets for these stones. A single pellet can be enough to poison a bird.
This is a huge step towards a pollution-free Europe. But the fight is not over.
Over the seven-year transition, hunters and sport shooters need to switch effectively to non-toxic alternatives, and national authorities need to enforce the restriction on the ground. BirdLife will keep calling for lead bullets to be restricted as well.
Marion Bessol, Nature Conservation Policy Officer, BirdLife Europe:
“We have known for decades that lead poisons birds and people, and today Europe has finally acted on it. Lead shot is still the biggest source of lead pollution from ammunition, so this is a significant victory for vultures, eagles and swans, and for the children who eat game meat. It rewards everyone who kept pushing, from scientists and hunters to the tens of thousands of citizens who signed our petition. We now want to see it implemented properly on the ground, and we will keep working until lead bullets are covered too.”
Notes for editors:
[1] The #BanLeadNow campaign has also drawn support from a wide range of stakeholders, including progressive hunters, sport shooters and scientists, who have shown that effective non-toxic alternatives such as steel shot are already widely available.
[2] Lead bullets are not included in the ban. Bullets account for far less lead pollution by tonnage, but they do real damage further up the food chain. Scavengers and birds of prey, such as the rare Bearded Vulture, suffer secondary poisoning when they feed on the contaminated remains or gut piles of shot animals. Brown bears are exposed in the same way.