§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in view of the damage to birds in general and swans in particular by swallowing lead shots and weights used by fishermen on inland waters, he will consider taking steps to ban the use of lead weights and to require their replacement by weights made from stone and other materials.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneThe Government continue to support the report and recommendations of the Nature Conservancy Council's working group on lead poisoning in swans, in particular that efforts should be directed to phasing out the use of split lead shot by anglers within five years. Attempts to find an alternative look promising but I cannot yet give any definite information.