Votes · 8 October 2026
Objection pursuant to Rule 115(2), (3) and (4)(c): Lead in gunshot
This vote is about banning lead in hunting ammunition.
Background
Lead in hunting shot poisons birds that swallow the pellets and contaminates game that people eat. It has been banned in wetlands since 2023. The Commission wants to ban it everywhere for hunting and outdoor sport shooting, with a 7-year transition; bullets and slugs are not covered. Two objections, tabled by the conservatives (ECR) and the Patriots, sought to block the measure.
- The measure covers shot containing at least 1% lead; indoor shooting, the police and the military are exempt.
- According to the European Chemicals Agency, some 1.1 million children aged 7 or under live in hunting families exposed to lead through game meat.
- Hunters’ federations accepted the final text, with steel shot as the main alternative.
Rejected: 166 for, 346 against, 21 abstentions, 186 did not vote.
Reference: B10-0431/2026