Lead ammunition: toxic hunting ammunition and its consequences for humans and animals

Every year, recreational hunters in Europe introduce an estimated 14,000 tonnes of lead into terrestrial ecosystems, even though lead-free alternatives have long been available in all common calibres.

Lead from hunting projectiles contaminates soils, water bodies and the bodies of wild animals. Birds of prey die of lead poisoning because they feed on gut piles and wounded animals. Game meat often contains measurable lead residues. The Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) explicitly warns that children under seven and pregnant women should avoid game meat.

What is lead and why is it used in hunting ammunition?

Lead is a heavy metal characterised by high density, softness and a low melting point. These properties make it technically attractive for projectiles: lead-based bullets deform on impact, transfer a great deal of energy, and, ideally, kill quickly. Lead has been the standard in hunting ammunition for centuries.

The problem: lead is highly toxic. There is no biologically safe threshold concentration. As little as 3.5 micrograms per decilitre of blood can cause behavioural abnormalities in children. Lead does not biodegrade, accumulates in the soil, and is carried into water bodies by rainwater. The lead ammunition dossier documents this connection in detail.

How much lead does recreational hunting release into the environment?

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) estimates that recreational hunting alone introduces 14,000 tonnes of lead into terrestrial environments every year. Overall, including shooting ranges and fishing weights, the annual input across Europe amounts to around 44,000 tonnes. Without regulation, this would lead to a cumulative input of around 876,000 tonnes over 20 years.

Switzerland has no national ban on lead ammunition outside wetlands, where lead shot has been prohibited since 1998. Outside these protected areas, lead-based ammunition may still be used in most cantons. This creates hotspots in intensively hunted areas.

How do raptors die from lead poisoning?

Raptors and scavengers such as golden eagles, bearded vultures, red kites and buzzards feed on gut piles – the entrails and remains that recreational hunters leave behind in the forest after a kill – as well as on wounded animals that were never found. Lead bullets fragment on impact into hundreds of tiny particles that remain invisible within the game meat and the offal. When raptors ingest these fragments, stomach acid releases the lead into their bloodstream. The consequences are loss of appetite, seizures, paralysis and death.

A study by the University of Cambridge and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Green, Pain & Krone 2022, «Science of the Total Environment») calculated from the liver values of over 3,000 raptors found dead that, across Europe, around 55,000 adult raptors of ten species are missing because lead ammunition is suppressing their populations. As a result, the white-tailed eagle population is 14 percent smaller, the golden eagle's 13 percent, the griffon vulture's 12 percent, and the red kite's 3 percent. For the common buzzard it is 1.5 percent, which corresponds to almost 22,000 adult birds. The frequency of poisonings correlates with the density of recreational hunters. In Switzerland, golden eagles and bearded vultures in high-alpine hunting areas are directly affected: isotope analyses by the Swiss Ornithological Institute in Sempach and from Grisons prove that the lead found in the bones of dead eagles originates from hunting ammunition.Hunting and Biodiversity places these losses in a broader ecological context.

Are humans at risk from game meat?

Yes. Swiss and German authorities have issued explicit consumption warnings. The Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (BLV) recommends that children up to seven years of age, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and women planning to have children should avoid game meat from areas hunted with lead ammunition entirely, since the use of lead ammunition cannot be reliably ruled out.

An STS study from 2022 tested 13 game meat samples from Switzerland: 5 of 13 showed lead levels above the limit of 0.05 mg/kg. Hunting households, where up to 90 portions of game are consumed per year, are particularly exposed. Lead particles are not visible to the naked eye, are not eliminated by cooking or freezing, and are not readily detectable clinically even in adults.Game meat in Switzerland addresses the health dimension in detail.

What other animals are affected?

The impact extends beyond birds of prey. Foxes, badgers, wolves and other scavengers absorb lead when they eat dead or wounded wild animals. In Europe, an estimated over one million waterfowl die of lead poisoning every year, and according to ECHA, at least 135 million birds are at risk from the direct ingestion of lead shot.Hunting and Wildlife Diseases shows how such toxic burdens weaken the immune system of wild animals and increase their susceptibility to disease.

Are there lead-free alternatives?

Yes, and they work. Lead-free bullets made of copper or copper-zinc alloys are available in all common calibres, proven in use and demonstrate comparable or superior ballistic performance in practical tests. In Grisons, a ban on lead bullets for the high hunt at high alpine altitudes has been in effect since September 2021. The results: over 8,000 analysed shots showed no significant difference in flight distances compared to lead ammunition. 75 percent of recreational hunters in Grisons were already using lead-free ammunition before the ban. In Denmark, a complete lead ban for hunting has been in effect since April 2024, without any documented problems.

As of February 2025, Switzerland has banned lead bullets for hoofed game at the federal level; for calibres over 6 mm, a transitional period applies until 2029. This is progress, but not a complete ban.

Why did regulation take so long?

The delay is no coincidence.How hunting associations influence policy and the public documents how JagdSchweiz and international hunting associations worked for years with claims that lead-free ammunition was “not yet mature”, caused more ricochets, or was worse for animal welfare. These claims were refuted by authorities and independent studies. Voluntary programmes failed, and it was only regulatory pressure that brought movement to the debate.

What are the remaining challenges?

Despite this partial progress, significant gaps remain: lead shot for small game (hares, grey partridges, wood pigeons) remains permitted outside wetlands. Old ammunition and older weapon stocks are barely recorded. Cantons with weaker enforcement remain problem areas. And the question of who is liable for legacy contamination in soils and waterways remains legally unresolved.

Hunting and Animal Welfare emphasises that lead ammunition is a systemic problem: as long as recreational hunting of wild animals takes place with toxic projectiles, contamination is structurally unavoidable.

Conclusion

Lead-based hunting ammunition is a well-documented, officially recognised environmental and health problem. Birds of prey die, soils become contaminated, and people unknowingly ingest lead through game meat. Lead-free alternatives have existed for years and work well. The delay in regulation was political, not technical, in nature. Switzerland's partial ban of 2025 is a step in the right direction, but it is not enough. A complete lead ban for all hunting ammunition is long overdue.

Sources

• ECHA (European Chemicals Agency): Restriction Report on Lead in Shot, Bullets and Fishing Tackle, 2023
• Green R.E., Pain D.J. & Krone O. (2022): The impact of lead poisoning from ammunition sources on raptor populations in Europe. Science of the Total Environment
• FSVO (Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office): Consumption Recommendations for Game Meat
• STS (Swiss Animal Protection): Study on Lead in Game Meat, 2022
• Grisons Office for Hunting and Fishing: Evaluation of Lead-Free Ammunition in the High Hunt
• Swiss Ornithological Institute Sempach: Ammunition lead burdens golden eagles (isotope analyses)
• JSG, SR 922.0; JSV, SR 922.01 (amendment February 2025)

Further Content

• Lead ammunition: Dossier
• Game meat in Switzerland
• Hunting and Wildlife Diseases
• Hunting and Biodiversity
• Hunting and Animal Welfare
• Hunting Myths