On 10 July 2025, Defra and Environment Minister Emma Hardy announced that the use of lead in ammunition will be banned in a bid to protect wildlife and waterways across England, Scotland and Wales.

This ban, which will prevent an estimated 7,000 tonnes of lead per year from polluting the environment, represents a significant win for the environment following decades of campaigning. The lead used in ammunition contaminates land and waterways and is extremely harmful to wildlife that ingest it, with lead ammunition estimated to cause the deaths of up to 100,000 wildfowl annually.  

The announcement follows proposals published in late 2024 by the Health and Safety Executive. Under the ban, shot containing more than 1% lead and bullets containing more than 3% lead will no longer be able to be sold to the public. There will be exemptions available for a limited number of cases, including for airguns and small-calibre bullets, use by the military, police and elite athletes, and outdoor target shooting ranges with risk management measures. The ban will involve a three-year transition period, a timeframe that has been criticised by the shooting industry who argue that this should be extended to five years to allow sufficient time to transition to alternative forms of ammunition. Nevertheless, environmental organisations have highlighted this ban is long overdue given the long-known toxic effects of lead. Legislation to implement the ban is expected to be introduced by summer 2026. 

This new ban closes the gap between the UK and the EU, which has already taken action on lead ammunition. In 2023, a ban on the use of lead gunshot within 100 metres of wetlands came into force in the EU, following a 2021 amendment to the EU’s chemicals legislation. Lead has an extremely harmful effect on both water quality and wildlife in wetlands, and the EU estimates that this ban will help prevent the deaths of around 1 million birds.  

Furthermore, in 2021 the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) proposed a restriction on the use of lead in shot, bullets and fishing weights. The proposed restriction has a shorter transition period than the UK announcement of 18 months for large calibre bullets. However, unlike the UK, it proposes a ban on small calibre bullets after five years (while noting that the alternatives to lead in small calibre bullets should be reviewed before the ban comes into force). The ECHA proposal also goes beyond the UK announcement by banning the sale and use of lead in sinkers, lures and fishing wires. 

In February 2025, the EU Commission presented its proposed ban based on these ECHA recommendations to EU representatives on the REACH committee. However, Czechia and Slovakia have urged the Commission to withdraw the proposal, citing concerns such as detrimental effects on defence capabilities and a lack of scientific evidence to support the ban – assertions which BirdLife International has argued are unfounded. Should the EU proposal be withdrawn, this may result in the UK moving ahead of the EU in this area once its ban comes into force. However, if the Commission’s proposal can successfully become law, this would result in the UK and EU being largely aligned on this issue. 

Photo by June Gathercole on Unsplash