How will a ban on lead in ammunition impact you? If you are a faithful reader of all4shooters.com/all4hunters.com, you are certainly aware of the EU lead ban and the unhappy outcome of all attempts to prevent the absurd, ideologically driven restrictions on the use of leadshot in and around wetlands. The European Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FACE), which represents the interests of Europe’s national hunting associations, is now working with REACHLaw to understand the socio-economic impacts of a ban on lead in ammunition in Europe.
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), which is an EU institution, is in fact preparing a proposal to restrict lead in hunting and sports shooting ammunition. This proposal will be published in mid-January 2021 and a new EU regulation could be in place by 2023. So, if you go hunting or sports shooting and if you are currently using lead containing ammunition, you will be directly impacted by the proposed ban.
FACE is asking you to complete a short survey: Your input is critical so please take a couple of minutes to complete the survey. No personal information will be collected in this survey and your answers are completely anonymous. Go to www.face.eu/survey.
The purpose of the FACE survey among hunters in Europe
As explained on FACE's website, “The purpose of this questionnaire is to collect information from hunters in EEA countries relating to the impacts on them if the use of lead ammunition is banned for hunting and sport-shooting as per the ongoing proposal under the REACH Regulation. This project is commissioned by the European Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FACE). The specialist consultancy REACHLaw will use the survey answers to prepare a socio-economic analysis. The analysis will document the impact of a ban on lead containing ammunition on hunters in Europe.”
FACE continues: “We need to collect reliable information on the number of hunters as there is a possibility that ECHA will differentiate between hunting and non-hunting activities in their recommendations to the Commission for a ban on the use of ammunition containing lead. Some non-hunting activities may be exempted from the ban (e.g. shooting at some rifle ranges, but this is unclear).
In many countries, we lack reliable estimates for the number of firearms owned/used by hunters, the amount of ammunition fired each year in EEA countries. This means that ECHA may underestimate the socio-economic impact of a ban on the use of lead ammunition. We need to collect reliable numbers to fully understand the socio-economic impact on hunters and hunting in Europe.”
You can fill out the survey here in many languages: www.face.eu/survey
