The European Union’s restriction on lead shot is moving to final adoption with a seven-year transition secured and bullets and slugs excluded, the European Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FACE) reported on 8 October. Publication in the EU’s Official Journal is expected in the coming weeks. For the UK trade the news fixes the second of two regulatory clocks: Great Britain’s shot deadline is already set at 1 April 2029, and Northern Ireland, which follows EU REACH under the Windsor Framework, will run on the EU’s longer timetable.

What has the EU settled?

According to FACE, which represents 37 national hunting associations, the European Parliament concluded its consideration of the restriction in Strasbourg on 8 October with no objection supported, and the scrutiny period closed on 10 October. The text as it moves to adoption carries a transition extended from three years to seven for lead shot, and removes bullets and slugs from scope entirely, a materially softer landing than the earlier drafts, which proposed shorter transitions and a wider scope taking in rifle ammunition. FACE president Laurens Hoedemaker said: “We must now use the seven years effectively to ensure hunters have good quality non-lead shot.”

The dossier dates from the European Chemicals Agency’s 2021 proposal to restrict lead in outdoor shooting under the EU’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals regulation (REACH). The EU has banned lead shot over and around wetlands since February 2023, with 100m buffer zones; the restriction now moving to adoption is the larger second step, covering terrestrial shooting with lead shot across all 27 member states.

How does the GB timetable compare?

Great Britain is on the faster track. The UK REACH restriction became law on 1 April 2026, following a Health and Safety Executive report in December 2024: shot containing 1% or more lead is banned from 1 April 2029 after a three-year transition, and projectiles with 3% or more lead face restrictions at outdoor ranges from 1 April 2028 unless specific conditions are met. The measures apply in England, Scotland and Wales and bring Scotland’s remaining lead wildfowling allowance into line with the rest of Great Britain.

Set side by side, the two timetables give the trade a clear planning horizon. A GB dealer’s lead shot stock has a hard end date of 1 April 2029; the EU’s seven years, once the restriction is published, run well into the 2030s. The GB range restriction on lead projectiles from 1 April 2028 has no EU counterpart in this text, because bullets and slugs are out of the EU’s scope altogether.

What does it mean at the counter?

Three things. First, stock depth in lead cartridges for GB sale needs to taper against the 2029 date, with the sell-through planned so that nothing is left on the shelf that cannot be sold; the 2028 range date governs lead bullets for range use in the same way. Second, the non-lead ranges that manufacturers have been building for the GB market will carry the shelf from 2029, and the EU’s longer clock means continental suppliers have less urgency to follow, so UK dealers should expect GB-specific product and GB-specific lead times. Third, Northern Ireland dealers sit on the EU clock, not the GB one: their lead shot timetable begins when the restriction is published and runs for seven years, and their suppliers in Great Britain will be shipping across a regulatory border that the two deadlines now make visible.

What happens next?

Once the restriction is published in the Official Journal it enters into force across the EU and the transition period begins. Gun Trade Insider will report the final text when it is published, and the GB restriction’s own detail is on GOV.UK.

Useful links

FACE – the federation’s report on the restriction’s progress

GOV.UK – the GB restriction on lead in ammunition and its deadlines

Frequently asked questions

When does the EU lead shot ban take effect?

After publication in the EU Official Journal, expected within weeks, a seven-year transition begins, so the ban would bite in 2033 at the earliest.

Are rifle bullets covered by the EU restriction?

No. FACE reports that bullets and slugs are excluded from the restriction as it moves to adoption. Great Britain’s separate range restriction on lead projectiles applies from 1 April 2028.

Which clock does a Northern Ireland dealer follow?

The EU’s. Northern Ireland follows EU REACH under the Windsor Framework, so the seven-year transition applies there once the restriction is published, while Great Britain’s shot ban bites on 1 April 2029.

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