The European Parliament this week approved in plenary the European Commission’s proposal to restrict lead in gunshot, BirdLife Malta said. This decision ends years of debate over one of Europe’s most persistent forms of lead pollution.
Once in force, this restriction will ban lead gunshot everywhere, including outside of wetlands and in sport shooting, with a seven-year transition period. It will be applied across the EU, the European Economic Area, and Northern Ireland.
The organisation said that scientists have known for more than 30 years that lead is highly toxic to wildlife and people, and there is no safe level of exposure. Yet, more than 44.000 tonnes of lead are still scattered across the EU every year through hunting, sport shooting and fishing.
It stressed that ”this pollution puts at least 92 bird species at risk and kills approximately 1 million birds every year. Thanks to this restriction, 135 million birds at risk of poisoning and 1 million children at risk of exposure in the EU will be protected.”
Marion Bessol, BirdLife’s Nature Conservation Policy Officer said, ”we have known for decades that lead poisons birds and people, and today Europe has finally acted on it. Lead shot is still the biggest source of lead pollution from ammunition, so this is a significant victory for vultures, eagles and swans, and for the children who eat game meat. It rewards everyone who kept pushing, from scientists and hunters to the tens of thousands of citizens who signed our petition. We now want to see it implemented properly on the ground, and we will keep working until lead bullets are covered too.”
This is a huge step towards a pollution-free Europe. But the fight is not over. European countries must make sure the restriction is properly implemented, the organisation said.
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