Timeline set for lead ammunition ban

The UK Government has announced that it plans to introduce legislation to restrict lead ammunition by summer 2026, with a further three-year transition period running until 2029.

In 2020, the CLA, along with the British Association of Shooting and Conservation (BASC) The Countryside Alliance (CA), Scottish Land & Estates (SLE), Moorland Association (MA), National Gamekeepers Organisation (NGO), Scottish Association for Country Sports (SACS) and the British Game Alliance (now Eat Wild) took the initiative to announce a voluntary five-year transition away from lead shot. This also included a change away from single use plastics (which used to form the wadding between the propellant and the shot) with the intention to give the shooting community time to adapt.

Alternatives to lead shot have different ballistic characteristics and the manufacturing process, particularly steel shot, requires a very different method. The manufacturers have struggled to design and build machinery that will withstand the wear and tear put on the process by the handling of steel rather than lead, and are only now coming to a position where they can produce the volumes of shot that will be needed in the event of a full transition away from lead.

One big plus of going lead-free is that it will facilitate the sale of game into the food chain. There are no safe levels of lead from a food standards perspective, in addition to which, it ought to be possible to remove steel shot from game mechanically.

While small calibre rifles have been exempted from this proposal, the .243 high velocity round has been included. This is the most commonly used calibre to control the three smallest species of deer (muntjac, Chinese water deer and roe) and this round is still needed. However, we are starting to see alternatives to lead being advertised.

In general, alternatives to lead, both for shotguns and rifles, are at an advanced stage and all organisations listed above have been encouraging their members to make the transition. This government announcement will serve as a reminder to accelerate that transition.