Government to consider banning lead ammunition due to environmental damage

Article summary

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has announced that the government is considering the banning of lead ammunition in an effort to protect wildlife and nature. According to research by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, the large volume of lead ammunition discharged throughout the UK countryside causes considerable harm to the surrounding environment and wildlife, with between 50,000 to 100,000 wildfowl dying each year due to the ingestion of lead from used ammunition pellets. The Environment Agency, alongside the Health and Safety Executive, are to now begin a two-year process to look at the evidence surrounding lead ammunition, conduct a consultation on the subject and propose options for its restriction.