Lead ammunition ban timetable confirmed: the sector picture

Defra has restated every deadline in the lead phase-out. Here is what it means across the disciplines, from the clay line to the stalking rifle, in one quick read

By News DeskPublished On: August 2nd, 2026

Lead shot’s sale and use end on 1 April 2029 · Credit: Shutterstock

Credit: Shutterstock

Every discipline in the shooting sector now has its lead deadline in writing. Defra’s response to the Animal Sentience Committee, published on 31 July, confirms the timetable fixed in law under UK REACH: outdoor range conditions on lead bullets from 1 April 2028, and the end of the placing on the market and use of lead shot and of large-calibre lead bullets for live quarry shooting from 1 April 2029.

What did Defra actually confirm?

The response is the Government’s formal reply to its animal welfare advisers, who reported on 12 March. It moves no date, which is itself the news: the REACH (Amendment) Regulations 2026 have been in force since 1 April 2026, and the 2028 and 2029 deadlines are now beyond argument. Elite athletes, as defined in the legislation, keep a conditional exemption for lead shot. Airgun ammunition stays outside the restriction, although the committee has asked ministers to consider licensing as a possible future route to restricting lead pellets, a power that rests with the Home Office.

What does it mean discipline by discipline?

For shotgun shooters, game and clay alike, lead shot cannot be bought or used from 1 April 2029, making 2028-29 the last lead season. For stalkers and rifle shooters, large-calibre lead bullets for live quarry end on the same date, and from April 2028 outdoor ranges must have what the response calls “effective lead risk management measures in place” before lead bullets can be used on them. For airgunners, nothing changes yet, but the licensing suggestion is one to watch. For everyone, the switch to non-lead comes with a task: the committee warned of a possible “reduction in lethality” if practice does not change, and the Health and Safety Executive’s answer is that best practice avoids it, pointing to the Forestry Commission’s successful shift to non-lead ammunition and to Denmark, which has shot game without lead since 1996.

Who will guide shooters through the change?

Not the Government. “We will be monitoring the development and dissemination of guidance by the sector,” the response says, so the shooting organisations, and the trade that serves every visitor to the show, will carry the changeover education: cartridge and ammunition choices, load testing and zeroing done well before April 2029.

What happens next

The dates are fixed and the preparation window is open. Expect non-lead ammunition, and the kit and know-how around it, to dominate the sector conversation between now and 2029. For the full detail, including the welfare committee’s airgun licensing recommendation and the humane despatch transition, read the full ShootingUK story.

Useful links

Defra – the Government’s full response to the Animal Sentience Committee on the lead ammunition restriction

Humane Slaughter Association – the association’s welcome for the phase-out and the three-year bullet transition

Frequently asked questions

When does the lead ammunition ban start?

Outdoor range conditions on lead bullets apply from 1 April 2028, and from 1 April 2029 the placing on the market and use of lead shot and of large-calibre lead bullets for live quarry shooting will not be permitted.

Are airgun pellets included?

No. Lead in airgun ammunition is out of scope, though the Animal Sentience Committee has recommended ministers consider licensing as a possible route to restricting it, a matter for the Home Office.