Lead ban: everything you always wanted to know... but were afraid to ask. As our readers should already be aware, the European Union is relentlessly following its ideological agenda against the use of lead in ammunition through the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). With the usual excuse of environment and health protection, ECHA has in fact proposed that the EU should restrict the use of lead ammunition in hunting and sport shooting in all EEA countries and Northern Ireland.
Ban of lead in ammunition, the proposal from ECHA is as follows:
- Prohibition on sale and use of lead shot for hunting with a transition period of 5 years (or 18 months according to ECHA’s committees). A very narrow derogation is proposed for the continued use of lead shot for sport shooting under strict conditions.
- Prohibition on use (not sale) of lead centerfire bullets for hunting after 18 months (for large calibers) and 5 years for small calibers including rimfire (with a review clause to establish where suitable non-lead is available). The use of lead bullets can continue for sports shooting after a 5-year transition period if shooting ranges are equipped with either lead collectors or specifically defined ‘best practice’ sand barriers.
This will heavily affect a substantial socio-economic sector (including many thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises) and several millions of law-abiding, responsible hunters and sport shooters. The European Commission is expected to publish a legislative proposal under the REACH Regulation in 2024.
If the European Commission follows ECHA’s opinion and the proposal is accepted by the main decision-makers, major impacts will follow. The final decision is in the hands of all EU countries. Each member state has only one vote. And the process is delicate because in many cases it’s not clear yes with ministry will be defined to vote.
That's why the European Shooting Sports Forum (ESSF) has published a “Frequently Asked Questions” document on the subject of the lead ban. The FAQs are currently available in 4 languages (English, German, French, Italian) and, as stated by ESSF, “encourage decision-makers look at that matter practically and proportionally. Good administration entails that decision-making should take account of all relevant considerations, ignore irrelevant ones, and balance the evidence appropriately. It is ESSF’s view that ECHA’s opinion contains numerous weaknesses and disproportionate elements.“
The Organizations behind ESSF
The European Shooting Sport Forum (ESSF) is an informal platform where representatives of international shooting and hunting organizations, as well as gun collectors, dealers and the industry active at European level engage in open dialogue and discussion on issues of common interest with a particular focus on the environmental, legal, political and socio-economic aspects of these activities.
These organizations belong to the ESSF:
- The Association of European Manufacturers of Sporting Firearms (ESFAM)
- The Association of European Sporting Ammunition Manufacturers (AFEMS)
- The European Association of the Civil Commerce of Weapons (AECAC)
- European Shooting Sports Council (ESSC) that represents, inter alia – European Shooting Confederation (ESC) - Federation Internationale de Tir aux Armes Sportives et de Chasse (FITASC)
- Federation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation of the EU (FACE)
- Foundation for European Societies of Arms Collectors (FESAC)
- Institut Européen des Armes de Chasse et de Sport (IEACS)
These organizations enjoy observer status:
- International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC)
- The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF)
