The EU is set to phase out lead shot for hunting and outdoor sport shooting across all member states, Slovenia included. On 8 October, the European Parliament rejected two objections that would have blocked the European Commission's restriction. It still has to be formally adopted and published in the EU's Official Journal, and after that comes a seven-year transition before the ban fully applies.

What happened

The restriction is a change to REACH, the EU's chemicals law. It covers gunshot that contains 1% or more lead by weight. Two political groups in the European Parliament, the European Conservatives and Reformists and Patriots for Europe, tabled objections to stop it. MEPs rejected both on 8 October, according to Bird-Watchers.com, which also reports that the scrutiny period ran until 9 October. If neither the Parliament nor the Council objects, the measure moves on to adoption.

Lead shot has already been banned in and around wetlands since 15 February 2023. The new rule takes that ban to other hunting grounds and to outdoor shooting ranges. The wetland rules stay in force during the transition.

What the ban covers, and what it doesn't

According to Club de Caza's reading of the draft, seven years after the regulation enters into force it will be illegal to carry or use lead shot while hunting, or to fire it at outdoor sport shooting. Selling it will also be banned, with some exemptions.

Not covered:

  • Bullets and slugs. Member states removed them from the scope in June. The Commission cites the importance of bullets to Europe's defense industry and says leaving them out has a limited effect on the expected drop in lead pollution.
  • Indoor ranges that don't release shot into the environment, plus police, military and some security uses.
  • Muzzle-loading and historical firearms, including modern replicas.

Outdoor sport shooting ranges can keep using some small lead shot if they meet strict conditions, including containing and recovering the shot at least every three years and monitoring runoff water. That exemption is due for review after ten years.

The original proposal had a three-year transition. It's now seven, which means the full ban would apply from around 2033 at the earliest.

Why it matters for animals

Birds can mistake spent pellets for grit and swallow them. BirdLife says a single pellet can poison a bird, estimates that lead pollution kills about 1 million birds a year, and says at least 92 species are at risk. Scavengers and birds of prey are exposed too, when they eat animals that were shot with lead.

Eurogroup for Animals, which represents animal protection groups across Europe, says more than 38,000 tonnes of lead shot end up in European nature every year. It estimates the restriction will protect up to 135 million wild birds at risk of swallowing shot and 14 million scavengers and raptors, and says farmed and companion animals will face less exposure as well.

What each side says

Conservation groups welcomed the vote. "Lead shot is still the biggest source of lead pollution from ammunition," said Marion Bessol, nature conservation policy officer at BirdLife Europe, calling it a significant victory for vultures, eagles, swans and children who eat game meat.

Hunters' groups accepted the final text. FACE, the European Federation for Hunting and Conservation, said before the vote that it considered the restriction "workable" after years of negotiation. FACE expects steel shot to make up more than 90% of the alternatives hunters will need, and says standard steel cartridges now cost about the same as lead.

Eurogroup for Animals calls the exclusion of bullets "a critical gap" that still has to be dealt with.

What happens next

The regulation needs to be formally adopted and published in the Official Journal. It enters into force 20 days after publication, and the seven-year clock starts then. As of mid-October, no publication date had been announced.

Great Britain has its own, faster timeline under UK REACH, with lead shot banned from 1 April 2029. Northern Ireland follows the EU rules.

What you can do

  • If you hunt or shoot, you don't have to wait seven years. Steel and other non-toxic shot are already on sale.
  • If you feed game meat to your dog or cat, talk to your vet about the risk of lead fragments.
  • If you find a swan, duck or bird of prey that's weak or unable to fly, call your local wildlife rescue or vet rather than handling it yourself.

Sources