BASC response to government announcement on lead ammunition ban

In response to the Government’s announcement today regarding restrictions on the sale and use of lead ammunition in England, Scotland and Wales, Terry Behan, BASC’s deputy director of shooting operations, said:

“BASC’s priority is to support a transition that upholds environmental responsibility while lobbying and fighting to protect the future and integrity of shooting in the UK.

“In 2020, BASC, Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), the Countryside Alliance (CA), Scottish Land & Estates (SLE), Country Land and Business Association (CLA), Moorland Association (MA), National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO), Scottish Association for Country Sports (SACS) and the British Game Alliance (now Eat Wild), took the initiative by announcing a voluntary five-year transition away from lead shot and single-use plastics for live quarry shooting. This proactive step gave the shooting community vital time to innovate, adapt and invest in sustainable alternatives knowing that a legal ban was coming and it was the right thing to do.

“Today’s announcement confirms that the Government plans to introduce legislation to restrict lead ammunition by summer 2026, with a further three-year transition period running until 2029.

“In doing this, the Government has shortened the expected timeframe for shotgun ammunition from five years to three years on the assumption that the ammunition is readily available – that is not the case for commercial and supply reasons beyond our sector’s control, and we urge government to adhere to a five-year timescale proposed by the Health and Safety Executive.

“BASC was successful in fighting to ensure that small calibres, airguns and shooting on ranges will be exempt from this proposed legislation.

“However, we have concerns with the proposed reclassification of larger calibres to include .243. This risks adversely affecting around 60,000 deer stalkers and could have a serious impact on the national deer cull, which affects road safety, food production and undermines government environmental priorities.”