Enough Said, Ban Lead: why a ban on lead ammunition is needed now

What did the Romans ever do for us?

Lower the IQ across Europe, apparently. New research has found that widespread lead usage in the Roman Empire caused cognitive decline 2,000 years ago.

Vitruvius, a Roman engineer, wrote how lead was ‘injurious to the human system’ (yet evidently, it didn’t do much to stop the Romans putting lead in basically everything). And injurious it is: ingesting lead can cause a delightful myriad of health problems, including anaemia, memory loss, and nerve disorders.

So even the ancient world knew how toxic lead is; and unsurprisingly, it’s since been banned in petrol, paint, and pipes.

But why is lead still turning up in the environment, in wildlife, and on our plates? The answer is lead ammunition, which is still being used for shooting in the UK. Not only is it making its way onto our dinner tables in game meat – every year, 7000 tonnes of it is scattered into the environment. That’s the same weight as the Eiffel Tower (ça alors!).

There, it contaminates water and soil, insidiously creeping its way into the food chain and onto plates throughout the UK. 100,000 waterbirds in the UK die each year from lead poisoning, and 1 million birds in Europe.

There are alternatives to lead ammunition, and small steps have been taken to phase out lead and use alternatives more widely. Between 1999 and 2009, legislation was brought in to restrict the use of lead ammunition in certain settings across each of the devolved UK nations. And in 2020, shooting communities proposed a voluntary ban on lead ammunition, looking to end its use for shooting in hunting within 5 years.

But five years down the line, research has consistently shown that this voluntary ban isn’t making a difference. And the partial legal restrictions aren’t faring much better – 25 years after they were first introduced in England, the evidence is clear: a majority of ducks are still being shot with lead.

So, lead is dangerous, the voluntary ban isn’t working, and despite decades of campaigning, it's still poisoning wildlife and people. What now?

It just so happens there’s never been a better time to call for a ban on lead ammunition for outdoor shooting in Great Britain. After a fraught and drawn-out process, a review into lead ammunition is sitting on the desk of Steve Reed, the Secretary of State right now. According to legal deadlines, he officially has two months to help make lead history.

WWT, along with a coalition of organisations including Wildlife and Countryside Link, RSPB, ChemTrust and Wild Justice, have recently launched a campaign to ban the use of lead ammunition. We’re asking everyone to take a few minutes to email Steve Reed calling for a ban.

The #BanLead campaign comes at a crucial point – every email urges Steve Reed to make this vital decision – that we want this poisoning to end, and a safer environment for wildlife and people.

So, can you help us end the era of lead for good? Send an email to the Secretary of State here.

Make sure to follow @wwtworldwide across socials for all the latest campaign updates.

The opinions expressed in this blog are the authors' and not necessarily those of the wider Link membership.