Most pheasants sold for food 'contain lead shot'

Almost all pheasants sold for food in the UK contain toxic lead shot, scientists have found.The discovery comes one year into a five-year transition to non-toxic shotgun ammunition - a move backed by nine UK shooting organisations.Of 180 birds examined by the scientists, 179 were shot with lead.One shooting group said finding humane and effective alternatives to lead would take time.'No detectable impact'The team, consisting of scientists and conservationists based across England and Scotland, bought wild-shot common pheasants that were sold by game dealers, butchers and supermarkets around the UK.With labs closed in lockdown, the scientists carried out the pheasant dissections in their own kitchens."We took out the shot and sent it off for analysis and 99% of the ammunition we extracted was lead," said Prof Debbie Pain, from Cambridge University."So really that hasn't declined at all since the shooting organisations signed up to the voluntary ban."IMAGE COPYRIGHTRHYS GREENThat voluntary ban was a declaration in February 2020 by shooting and countryside organisations, which all committed to phasing out lead shot and transitioning "completely" to non-toxic alternatives. Those alternatives are already widely available and include steel, bismuth and tungsten.That commitment, the scientists conclude, has not yet had any detectable impact.Lead is toxic even at very low concentrations, as Prof Rhys Green from Cambridge University explained."Over time, it has been banned from a progressively lengthening list of products, including plumbing, paints on things like children's toys and as an additive to petrol. And the maximum allowable concentration of lead in many foods has also been limited by an EU directive, which still applies in the UK," he said.IMAGE COPYRIGHTPHIL COOMES / BBCimage captionShooting organisations say change from traditional ammunition will take time"But game meat products are not included on that list of foods, for reasons that are unclear. Currently, the amount of lead in game meat sold for human consumption is not regulated by law."