Research Paper

No Progress in Voluntary Shift from Lead Shot for Red Grouse Shooting in Britain

A new research paper, published as part of the SHOT-SWITCH project, has found no progress in the voluntary transition away from lead shotgun ammunition in Britain’s red grouse hunting, despite a five-year phase-out period proposed by shooting and rural organisations in 2020. The research, involving Dr Mark Taggart, Senior Research Fellow at the Environmental Research Institute (ERI), along with Maider Guiu and Ilgaz Cakin (also at ERI), shows that lead shot remains widely used.

The study examined 78 red grouse carcasses from the 2024/2025 shooting season, all of which contained lead shotgun pellets. Only one carcass had a mix of lead and bismuth pellets, indicating minimal uptake of non-lead alternatives. Meat samples had lead concentrations far exceeding legal limits for farmed animals and poultry, even after visible shot was removed.

These findings mirror those from five and twelve years before the transition period, indicating no reduction in lead contamination. X-ray analysis of 12 carcasses revealed small lead fragments (0.2–0.5 mm in diameter) embedded in the meat. These are likely to be too tiny to be detected and removed by human consumers of game meat.

The researchers concluded that lead in red grouse meat is primarily due to fragmentation of lead shot upon impact. With the voluntary transition failing, conservationists and health advocates are calling for a mandatory ban on lead shot, arguing that self-regulation has proven ineffective.

Read the full study: https://doi.org/10.52201/CEJ22/YYWM1722.