Heavy metal blues

The initiative by the shooting groups to phase out lead shot has raised more questions than it has given answers, says Robin Scott

- Robin Scott

Are you concerned the game we eat doesn’t come with enough nutrient-rich iron for your liking? Don’t fret. Before long roast pheasant and partridge will be stuffed with it. Shooting and other rural groups say the effectiveness of soft iron shot is now so good that lead and single-use plastics in shotgun ammunition for live quarry shooting can be phased out voluntarily within five years. But have they spoken too soon? Britain’s cartridge makers are spitting feathers. They say the organisations, which orchestrated such a massive PR victory with general licences last year, have jumped the gun with this recent announcement.

Reminders

Before pitching into the debate now raging over lead shot and plastics, let’s remind ourselves of what happened 12 months ago.

Wild Justice, you’ll remember, won a court reprieve giving protection to vermin at the expense of endangered nesting birds, livestock and vulnerable crops. In doing so they lost face and credibility thanks to an amazingly effective campaign co-ordinated by BASC, the Countryside Alliance and others. It generated unprecedented media and public support for gamekeepers, shooters and farmers. By working together and delivering a unified message for once this countryside pact won the argument by a country mile.