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infrequently recognised in natural science literature but of
paramount importance in resolving conflicts (Redpath et al.
2015). A small number of lessons learned are suggested to assist
in development of solutions for other conflict situations.
METHODS
‘Measuring’ responses of shooters to the lead issue and
appraising the atmosphere of the debate has been done by a
range of means of differing robustness, namely:
1. A ‘game dealer survey’: to measure compliance with the
Regulations in England following the Use Lead Legally
campaign launched in 2013.
The methods used for purchase of ducks, for pathological
examination to determine recent from non-recent shot, and
the shot analysis techniques used were based upon Cromie et
al. (2010) and are provided as Supplementary Information in
Annex 1.
This game dealer survey is a measure of behavioural responses
of shooters following the Use Lead Legally campaign and likely
reflects a range of motivations.
Measuring compliance with the current regulations on use
of lead shot is complex and previously Defra contracted
ADAS to undertake a project to review different compliance
methodologies (ADAS 2007). That report concluded that a
game dealer survey was “an absolute method of measuring
compliance, which had some constraints relating to limited
coverage of types of shooting and range of species. Its main
strengths were seen as its practicality, ease of implementation
and that it had the least chance of a biased sample when
compared with other sampling methods”. It is recognised that
it is not necessarily a good reflection of compliance of ‘coastal
wildfowlers’13 .
This method has received criticism from some in the shooting
community who suggest that a large proportion of the ducks
sold in England are sourced in Scotland where there is a
possibility of them having been shot legally with lead if they
were killed when they happened to be away from a wetland.
However, it seems implausible that all the game dealers in
England which supplied ducks in this study, were dishonest
about the English provenance of their ducks at the time of
purchase and additionally improbable that a large proportion
of the many ducks shot in England do not end up being sold
in England. Outlets known (from Cromie et al. (2010)) to source
their ducks from Scotland were not approached.
Purchasing of ducks for the survey was undertaken during
November 2013 to February 2014 i.e. some four to sevenmonths
after the launch of the Use Lead Legally Campaign.
2. A ‘shootersurvey’: a formal questionnaire survey investigating
understanding and attitudes of shooters.
This formal questionnaire survey of BASC members was
undertaken between 2008 and 2010 as part of the Defra-
funded compliance study (Cromie et al. 2010). The questionnaire
explored shooters’ understanding of the current regulations in
England, whether they obeyed the law, their attitudes towards
the regulations and surrounding issues. It would be fair to say
that since the questionnaire survey was conducted the lead
debate has become more polarised, however, it is reasonable to
suggest that the findings are still valid. For the full methodology
and results see Cromie et al. (2010).
3. A ‘shooting media survey’: analysing the message content
being provided by the shooting media to the shooting
community to help understand the narratives which may be
influencing shooters’opinions.
To help understand the influences to which the shooting
community are exposed, some of the narratives relating to
lead ammunition in the shooting press were explored. A
summative content analysis was used (Hsieh and Shannon
2005) i.e. selecting articles containing key words and then
exploring the contextual usage. Some 94 articles (letters,
pieces or editorials) containing the words ‘lead shot’ or ‘lead
ammunition’ in the UK shooting/fieldsports printed press of
nine ‘popular’ publications from July 2010 to July 2015 were
reviewed (magazines focussed on clay pigeon shooting,
target shooting and airgun shooting were not included). This
was not an exhaustive review (and articles in 2011 and 2013
will be underrepresented as their collection was ad hoc and
opportunistic rather than systematic at that time). Of the nine,
two were weekly publications with an average circulation of
22,000 (range 20,000-24,000), six were monthly publications
with an average circulation of 23,400 (range 11,500-31,600)
and one was a bi-monthly publication with a readership of
300,000). It is not possible to calculate the total readership of
13‘Coastal wildfowlers’: Shooters most likely to be in wildfowling clubs which have codes of practice, which may not allow sale of shot ducks to game dealers. In
England, coastal wildfowlers should have been using non-toxic shot since 1999 so arguably are best placed to advise other sections of the shooting community on its
use, even acting as advocates.
Ruth Cromie, Julia Newth, Jonathan Reeves, Michelle O’Brien, Katie Beckmann & Martin Brown