For years, conservationists have warned about the silent suffering caused by toxic lead shot.
Now, after decades of tireless campaigning, RSPB Scotland is celebrating a landmark decision that promises a safer future for birds, animals and people alike.
DEFRA has announced that lead ammunition will be banned across the UK within the next three years, marking a major shift in how the countryside is protected and preserved.
Duncan Orr-Ewing, Head of Species and Land Management at RSPB Scotland, welcomed the news with open arms.
He called the decision “fantastic” and hailed it as a victory for common sense, science and wildlife welfare.
Lead, he explained, has long been known to poison wild birds, particularly swans, ducks and geese.
Each year, tens of thousands of birds suffer slow and painful deaths after ingesting lead pellets scattered across wetlands and fields.
Scotland is home to internationally significant populations of both resident and migratory wildfowl, and the risk to them has always been painfully real.
For RSPB Scotland and its supporters, the evidence was overwhelming.
Lead is toxic not just to animals, but to humans too.
And with safe, effective alternatives already available, there was simply no good reason for delay.
Previous Scottish regulations tried to curb the use of lead shot in certain areas, but enforcement was patchy and results were disappointing.
Orr-Ewing said those efforts “proved unworkable” and often left wildlife exposed to continued harm.
A clear, nationwide ban, he argued, will leave no room for confusion and will make it far easier for shooters, regulators and conservationists to work together.
The RSPB is now urging a swift rollout of the new law, along with proper monitoring to make sure it is followed.
For those who love nature and value our shared landscape, this is a moment worth savouring.
It is proof that determined voices, when united behind a cause, can drive real and lasting change.
Scotland’s wild places deserve nothing less.
And for the wild swans and geese returning to our lochs each winter, the skies just got a little safer.
