100,000 farmers' guns at risk from lead ban

Farmers could be forced to replace 100,000 guns at a cost of tens of millions of euros under EU proposals to ban lead ammunition.

The cost of decommissioning and replacing guns used by farmers could top €70m, the National Association of Regional Game Councils (NARGC) has warned.

A proposed ban on lead ammunition in wetlands is to be discussed by an EU expert committee on chemicals next month.

Wetlands

NARGC chair Dan Curley told the Irish Farmers Journal the definition of wetlands may include all peatlands and floodplains, covering 80% of Ireland.

The NARGC estimates half of the 200,000 licensed guns in Ireland are used by farmers and landowners.

Some 90% would have to be decommissioned and replaced at a combined cost of €810 each, totalling more than €70m.

It maintains that steel can replace lead in shotgun cartridges and that shotguns manufactured after 1970 can switch to normal steel without any re-proofing

Even more modern guns would have to be shipped to the UK for re-proofing at a cost of around €300 each, the NARGC calculated.

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) says that toxic lead can contaminate game meat, animals that inadvertently eat pieces of ammunition and water.

It maintains that steel can replace lead in shotgun cartridges and that shotguns manufactured after 1970 can switch to normal steel without any re-proofing.

However, the NARGC believes that gun certification would be required by insurers and health and safety legislation.

Curley said steel doesn’t give like lead and puts more pressure on the gun’s barrel, especially when it is shaped into a tighter choke near its end.

“It could come back to meet you,” he said.

“The big cost is going to be for farmers, who have old guns with tight chokes.”