Dr Debbie Pain recognised by Marsh Award

Dr Debbie Pain, the Conservation Director of the WWT, was recognised by the Zoological Society of London last week with the Marsh Award for Conservation Biology. Debbie worked ‘for’ me (in fact I appointed her) and then with me at the RSPB for 16 years before heading off for WWT. Debbie has done ground-breaking and influential…

Leading the way

Do you remember that the Shooting Times were given a copy of a WWT Council paper on their position on lead ammunition  back in the spring?  As I said at the time, it’s hardly surprising that a nature conservation organisation is against the use of a type of ammunition that poisons some of its victims…

Are you game?

The Spanish Agency on Food Safety and Nutrition has looked at the human health risks associated with use of lead shot in hunting.  I guess Spaniards eat quite a bit more game than you and I, and that hunters eat more than non-hunters do.  If you are an Andalucian game-hunter (and I guess you are…

A condor lead moment

American nature conservationists are campaigning to remove lead ammunition from the environment because it poisons species such as swans, eagles and California condors.  They argue that non-toxic shot alternatives should be used. They also say that use of lead ammunition risks the health of people, particularly children, if they ingest tiny fragments of lead from…