Woman who flew with swans warns of lead danger — SkimNews
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- RSPB presented its Medal, the charity’s highest accolade, to the Lead Ammunition Collective for campaigning to end toxic lead ammunition sales; Dr Ruth Cromie and Prof Debbie Pain accepted it at the annual general meeting earlier this month.
- Sacha Dench warned that up to 100,000 UK water birds are expected to die each year from lead poisoning, with perhaps one million across Europe, and said the effect is pushing some species toward extinction.
- Sacha Dench said each cartridge can spread up to 300 lead pellets, amounting to 7,000–13,000 tonnes deposited into UK nature annually, where birds swallow pellets mistaken for food or grit.
- England, Wales and Scotland will prohibit the sale and use of lead shot from April 2029.
- Sharif Adams said switching to non-toxic ammunition was an easy, conservation-focused decision; game dealers increasingly accept only non-lead deer shot, requiring managers to make the switch to sell venison through the human food chain.
Why it matters: Deer managers already face a practical incentive to switch because game dealers increasingly accept only non-lead shot; the April 2029 ban makes that transition mandatory across England, Wales and Scotland. For the RSPB and Lead Ammunition Collective, the policy fulfills the campaign to end toxic ammunition sales, backed by estimates of 100,000 UK water-bird deaths a year.
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