15th July 2016
Days after BBC Wildlife Presenter Chris Packham damned consumption of red grouse as unfit, the then Secretary of State for the Environment, Liz Truss, has rejected the recommendations of the Lead Ammunition Group (LAG) process to ban lead ammunition and confirmed that there will be no further restrictions on its use.
Chris Packham launched a personal social media campaign demanding that Marks and Spencer stops selling red grouse telling consumers it was a ‘toxic product’ and shooting grouse should be banned. His campaign would appear to be based on a prejudiced view rather than the evidence that has been fully considered by the FSA and Government.
In a letter to LAG Chairman, John Swift, the Secretary of State has confirmed that: “the Food Standards Agency (FSA) sought independent scientific advice from the Committee on Toxicity about the human health risk assessment within it. This has led the FSA to conclude that the evidence provided in your report does not affect their current advice. This advice, which has been in place since 2012, states:
‘To minimise the risk of lead intake, people who frequently eat lead-shot game, particularly small game, should cut down their consumption. This advice is especially important for vulnerable groups such as toddlers and children, pregnant women and women trying for a baby’.
The letter continues: “With regard to the impact of lead ammunition on wildlife, we note that the report does not provide evidence of causation linking possible impacts of lead ammunition with sizes of bird populations in England. In both instances – human health and wildlife – the report did not show that the impacts of lead ammunition were significant enough to justify changing current policy.”
Moorland Association Director, Amanda Anderson, said: “We welcome the government decision to not impose further restrictions on the use of lead ammunition. Decisions of this nature should always be based on firm evidence. As the FSA have confirmed, there is no evidence to back up a ban on lead shot and as such no change should be made. Red grouse is a wild, delicious and healthy meat that even the keenest game eaters consume infrequently and poses no threat to human health.”
