§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on his proposals for the use of lead shot. [94378]
§ Mr. MullinOn 1 September 1999, legislation to restrict the use of lead shot came into force in England. Regulations to restrict the use of lead shot in Scotland and Wales are a matter for the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly respectively.
The regulation prohibits the use of lead shot on or over all Ramsar sites, as well as those Special Protection Areas and other Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) that have been identified as being sites important for waterfowl by English Nature. The regulation will also apply to areas below the high water mark of ordinary spring tides (only some of which are already designated as SSSIs). Outside these areas, the regulation prohibits the use of lead shot for shooting all species of Anatidea (ducks and geese) together with moorhen, coot golden plover and snipe.