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ABSTRACT
Lead is toxic to animals and thousands of tonnes of lead ammunition, primarily gunshot, are deposited and accumulate
in the UK environment annually. Lead derived from ammunition now appears to be the most significant geographically
widespread and common source of unregulated environmental lead contamination in the UK to which wildlife is
exposed. The effects of lead from ammunition have primarily been studied in birds, with the two main exposure
pathways being direct ingestion of spent gunshot (e.g. by wildfowl and terrestrial gamebirds, that mistake it for grit or
food), and ingestion by predators and scavengers of lead gunshot, bullets, or fragments from these, in the flesh of their
prey. Numerous studies conducted in the UK and overseas over the last 65 years have shown that lead poisoning from
ammunition sources is geographically widespread and causes substantial suffering and mortality in many avian taxa.
While relatively few studies have focussed on non-avian taxa in the UK, this does not imply that risks do not exist.
Broad estimates indicate that in the UK in the order of 50,000-100,000 wildfowl (c. 1.5-3.0% of the wintering population)
are likely to die each winter (i.e. during the shooting season) as a direct result of lead poisoning. For migratory swans, this
represents a quarter of all recorded deaths. Wildfowl that die outside of the shooting season will be additional, as will
those that die of causes exacerbated by lead poisoning. Several hundred thousand wildfowl a year may suffer welfare
effects. Estimates of mortality for terrestrial gamebirds in the UK are less accurate and precise, but indicate that in the
order of hundreds of thousands of birds may die from lead poisoning annually. Studies in North America show that lead
poisoning kills a substantial proportion of certain species of predatory and scavenging birds, but equivalent studies have
not yet been conducted in the UK. A few studies from the UK have reported lead poisoning in certain raptor species, and
the source and pathways exist for a wider range of species to be affected.
Key words: Lead, ammunition, wildlife, birds, poisoning, mortality, UK, welfare
INTRODUCTION
Lead is a naturally occurring toxic metal that has been used by
humans for centuries, and is consequently widely distributed in
the environment. Increasing knowledge of the negative effects
of even low levels of exposure to lead on human health has
resulted in society taking many actions to reduce emissions
of, and exposure to, lead such as its removal from petrol and
paint. For example, atmospheric lead emissions were estimated
to have declined by 98% between 1990 and 2011 in England
largely due to the phasing out of the use of lead additives in
petrol (Thistlethwaite et al. 2013).
Poisoning of birds and other wildlife from
ammunition-derived lead in the UK
Deborah J. Pain1†, Ruth Cromie1 & Rhys E. Green2,3
1Wildfowl &Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, Gloucester GL2 7BT, UK
2 Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL, UK
3 Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
† Corresponding author email address: