Countryside Alliance Ireland - love the countryside

A consultation on banning the use of lead shot for hunting in wetlands is presently open for responses.  Mr Jimmy Deenihan T.D., Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, is inviting submissions on a process to end the use of lead shot for hunting in wetlands, to be in line with Ireland’s international obligations.  The closing date for submissions is Wednesday 21^st December 2011.

Many EU states, Northern Ireland and Britain have already banned lead shot in wetlands.  

Some of the key issues under consideration are:·        

•  A suggested date of September 2013 to implement the change;·        
• Alternatives to lead shot;·        
• The problem of confining the ban to wetlands on which hunting takes place given that large areas in Ireland are temporary wetlands only. Alternative approaches being considered are to end the use of lead shot for shooting waterbirds (this is the practice in some other European countries), or to introduce a general ban on the use of lead shot on a State wide basis regardless of species or habitats. 

Countryside Alliance Ireland will submit a response to the relevant bodies.  To ensure our response is as comprehensive as possible we are asking our members to offer their views on this matter.  Please email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with your feedback by Wednesday 30^th November.