A new study from Spain, the stronghold of the European Griffon Vulture population, shows that blood lead levels are higher in vultures living in areas with high lead soil levels but also in areas with high lead ammunition use for game shooting. Nearly half of the vultures had elevated lead levels, a little under 5%…
Category: LEAD AMMUNITION
Fizz! Cheers M&S!!
Well, sometimes you need to celebrate, don’t you. And although I would normally go up market from this I did want to spend my money with M&S to mark their sensible change of mind over selling grouse meat in their stores this year. Although M&S do sell champagne in their stores, my local outlet doesn’t…
Lead duck paper now free to view
Remember that science showing a link between ingested lead levels and population level impacts in wildfowl that Defra knew about but which Liz Truss ignored in her response to the Lead Ammunition Group report? If not see Truss misleads over waterfowl science 14 July, The science about which Truss misled us 20 July and Truss…
Flock back to M&S, grouse over
M&S will not stock grouse meat this year. Phew! I’ve been missing shopping in M&S. I may buy a bottle of their champagne to celebrate. In a statement posted on their corporate blog M&S say that they will not stock grouse because there aren’t enough of them on the estate which they intend to use…
Letter from Chris Packham to M&S
Apologies to anyone for whom this post is not displaying perfectly – I’ve tried to fix it and that’s the best I can do. Sorry! Here’s the link to this letter on Chris Packham’s website. Steve Rowe CEO Marks and Spencer Group plc London W2 1NW Dear Marks & Spencer I have a few questions…
Don’t ignore the science on lead
‘Don’t ignore the science on lead’ is the title of a BASC statement that ignores the science on lead. It is quite difficult to make it up. BASC’s Dr Matt Ellis, said: ‘BASC’s policy has always been no sound evidence, no change. There is no scientific evidence of population-level impacts outside of wetlands and we…
Guest blog – by John Swift, chair of the Lead Ammunition Group
Mark writes: John Swift is the former boss of BASC and for more than five years has been the Chair of the Lead Ammunition Group set up by the last Labour government and treated so shabbily by the outgoing Secretary of State for Environment Liz Truss only a matter of 12 days ago. Here he…
The science about which Truss misled us
In a slightly shocking move last week (though I am not easily shocked) Liz Truss (formerly of Defra) announced she was not taking any notice of the report of the Lead Ammunition Group report (now published in full). She announced this after sitting on the report for 14 months, on the day a PM resigned…
New M&S nonsense
M&S keep digging a hole of ignorance and you can hardly see the tops of their heads now. In their current stock answer to customers concerned about the origin and lead content of the grouse meat that they might or might not sell to the general public they have a new phrase ‘all M&S game…
M&S wavering
There is nothing but stubbornness stopping M&S from dumping grouse meat. They have dumped it in the previous two years – once for a good reason and once for a bad reason. Last year, they just used what looked like an excuse but in 2014 they said they wouldn’t sell grouse meat until they received…