food health standards in this regard. Again, the client is paying

for the lead-free bullet, and the estate benefits from the sale of

uncontaminated venison.

CONSIDERATIONS RELATED TO EXTENDING

LEAD-FREE AMMUNITION REQUIREMENTS

Adecision by government to extend existing regulationswould

have significant implications for the cartridge makers of the

UK, who would then need to increase their production of steel,

bismuth–tin, and Tungsten Matrix shot ammunition. The same

decision has fewer consequences for rifle ammunition because

most is imported into the UK market. Any such changes would

require that discussions should take place between policy

makers and the UK ammunition makers, as to the length of

a phase-in period. The following considerations apply to this

issue. Virtually all steel shot is made in China, and is imported

into the UK for assembly into steel shot cartridges

. Thus the

Chinese production capacity would have to be increased,

consistent with projected demand. The tungsten used to

manufacture Tungsten Matrix shot is produced from Chinese-

mined ores, refined in China, and imported into the UK. The

Chinese production of this metal would also have to increase.

The bismuth presently used in making shot is derived mainly

from the refining of other metals, not the mining of bismuth

ores. Any projected increase in the demand for bismuth-tin

shot would have to be met by assurances of availability of this

metal from whichever source. The making of bismuth-tin shot

requires its own specialised technology, whose production

capacity would have to increase to satisfy a projected increase

in cartridge demand. Industry would require an adequate

phase-in time to install such technology.

This paper has shown that the major UK ammunition makers

already have the technology, manufacturing capacity, and

marketing in place to satisfy the demands of existing UK

regulations for lead-free shot use over wetlands. Given that

cartridges for game shooting comprise a smaller segment of

the annual production (at least for Gamebore, at about 20-25%),

there is considerable room to expand this segment. However,

to do so requires a firm commitment to ammunition makers

that regulation can provide. The persistent and continuing low

hunter compliance with regulation, at least in England, reduces

the interests of makers to produce more lead-free cartridges.

The use of lead shot cartridges in all types of shooting therefore

needs to be examined in the interests of compliance and lead

pollution reduction on a larger scale.

In November, 2009, a workshop was convened at the request

of the International Council for Game andWildlife Conservation

(CIC) to evaluate the continued use of lead ammunition and

their lead-free substitutes for hunting (Kanstrup 2010). Article 6

of the final Resolution stated

“We recommend that a Road Map be developed by the CIC in

close collaboration with other stakeholders to implement the

phase-in of non-toxic ammunition for all hunting and shooting

as soon as practicable. This roadmap should include clear

objectives with timelines.”

Article 8 of the Resolution stated

“We find that voluntary or partial restrictions on the use

of lead ammunition have been largely ineffective and that

national and international legislation is required in order to

ensure effective compliance and to create the assured market

for non-toxic ammunition.”

(Kanstrup 2010).

The collective evidence presented in the present paper

indicates that Articles 6 and 8 of the above Resolution apply

completely to hunting and shooting in the UK, and could be

implemented forthwith.

Pers. comm.

with Mr. R.Cove, President and CEO of Kent Gamebore, November, 2014.

Availability and use of non-toxic ammunition: practicalities and regulations