BASC has welcomed the government’s decision not to ban the use of lead ammunition following consideration of the report by the Lead Ammunition Group (LAG).
In a letter to the chairman of LAG, environment secretary Liz Truss MP said the report “did not show that the impacts of lead ammunition were significant enough to justify changing current policy”.
Her letter also said that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) had found no reason to change its current advice on the consumption of game meat shot with lead.
BASC chairman Peter Glenser said: “The government has engaged in a lengthy, evidence-based analysis of the use of lead ammunition and has found there is no reason to change the law.
“Risks are there to be managed and it is quite clear from current evidence that by following FSA advice and trimming meat of shot-affected areas, the risk can be eliminated.
“The UK has also acted to protect vulnerable species by legislating on the use of lead shot for wildfowl and over wetlands.
“Unfortunately, the lead ammunition debate has been hijacked by campaigners who are looking to damage shooting as a whole. This puts them back in their box.”
ENDS