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Lead is a poison – does that appear to be a commonly understood fact? Probably so, but problems and arguments<\/em> arise from the use of lead ammo when hunting. Wildlife feeds on carrion left by hunters and dies from lead poisoning. This danger affects more than a couple of animals … an estimated 10 – 20 million animals currently die each year!<\/p>\n JACKSON, Wyoming\u2014Meghan Warren grabbed the bald eagle’s legs with thick leather gloves to secure its powerful talons. With her other hand, she pinned the bird’s wings before they could unfold to their six-foot span.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Full article link here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The bald eagle admitted on 13 December 2011 that had been caught in a leg-hold trap also had elevated blood lead levels (BLL) of 9.6 \u00b5g\/dL. She coughed up a pellet (accumulated undigested material, in the case of eagles primarily hair) shortly after initial exam at SOAR. This pellet was x-rayed for lead fragments. The bright white flecks are lead fragments that were not dissolved and absorbed into her blood stream.<\/p>\n The leg-hold traps were set near a deer carcass. Had she not been caught in the trap and found, it is likely she would\u2019ve continued to eat off this deer carcass and ingest more lead.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A 1997 University of Minnesota Raptor Center retrospective study concluded that spent lead ammunition is an important source of lead exposure for bald eagles. TRC also undertook a subsequent retrospective study\u00a0to test the hypothesis that lead fragments in carcasses and gutpiles of white-tailed deer represents an important source of lead exposure\u00a0lead in bald eagles. Read this research paper published in Spring 2012<\/a>. (461 kb PDF)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Click above link or image to read full article.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Raptor Center<\/a><\/p>\n National Wildlife Health Center<\/a><\/p>\n KTVZ reports: Bald Eagle survives lead poisoning; many others don’t<\/a><\/p>\n Teton Raptor Center<\/a><\/p>\n Biological Diversity<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Wildlife Center of Virginia<\/a> makes a valid point when they say, “No responsible, ethical hunter wants to kill an eagle or other raptor. Hunters who are not using non-toxic shot, or properly disposing of animal remains, probably don\u2019t understand the issue. We must educate these hunters, not judge or condemn them. By keeping it positive, we will make a difference.”<\/p>\n The Wildlife Center of Virginia<\/a> makes an additional point that explains the extreme polarization of American citizens on efforts to reduce or eliminate lead ammo (and fishing tackle) from the environment – hunters see these efforts as a way to make it impossible to make use of guns, effectively banning all hunting. While it is extremely rare in the U.S. for a family to subsist off game animals, there is a small section of the American citizenry who greatly enjoy hunting. Killing prey animals,\u00a0that have securely established healthy population numbers, for food should be acceptable whether hunting is everyone’s ‘cup of tea’ or not – given that reasonable safety measures are followed. In fact, because Americans have exterminated apex predators from the natural ecosystem so thoroughly, ungulates would overpopulate to the point of starvation in many areas without hunting. While many non-hunters abhor the thought of a badly placed shot causing an animal to suffer, starvation is a much slower way to die and causes much suffering – in addition to the fact that starving ungulates will strip bark from young trees and shrubbery, destroying the source of their diet.<\/p>\n Hunters often mistakenly believe that an exit wound insures the lead ammo does not contaminate the carcass though it is a common occurrence for a lead bullet to fragment when it hits a body, especially if it hits bone.\u00a0 “In nearly every case bullets will fragment or break apart…Hunting bullets leave behind as much as 30 percent of the original bullet mass in the muscles or internal organs of the target animal, even when the largest part of the bullet passes through. Since most of these fragments are very small, their potential significance is easily overlooked by hunters. Only recently has it been shown that these tiny fragments of lead can be toxic if ingested by scavenging or predatory birds.”<\/a><\/p>\nFirst Learn More About the Victims, then Explore Solutions …<\/h1>\n
<\/p>\nClick image to read more directly from the Wildlife Center.<\/a><\/h1>\n
![\"Wildlife](\"http:\/\/pawsacrossthenation.org\/pawsTalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/wildlifecenter-org1.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\nNational Geographic<\/a><\/h1>\n
\nAs Warren slowly removed the ailing eagle from an oxygen chamber at the animal hospital where she worked, it suddenly awakened from a stupor. It snapped its yellow hooked beak, puncturing her right cheek. Blood trickled down her face.<\/p>\n
\n“Oh, my God!” shouted a veterinary technician, jumping back.<\/p>\n
\nIt was a surprising move for a bird in such poor shape. Less than 36 hours earlier, this eagle was too weak to hold up its white-feathered head. It arrived at the Teton Raptor Center slumped on its breast, wings drooped: another casualty of lead poisoning.<\/p>\n
\nThis was the third eagle in a little over a month to arrive in such a feeble state. During Wyoming’s big game hunting season, virtually all eagles have lead in their system from scavenging bullet-riddled carrion. A half dozen or so lead-poisoned ones make it to the rehab center every year, but no one knows how many die unseen in the backcountry.<\/p>\n
\nThe death of one of them a few weeks earlier still haunted Warren. It was a female, the largest bald eagle Warren had ever handled in her three years at the Teton Raptor Center. She had rescued the eagle from the snow on a ranch along the Hoback River, then administered injections of medicines and chelating agents and force-fed it food and liquids under the instructions of a veterinarian.<\/p>\n
\nBut that eagle died within a week. Just a week ago, another one had died within 24 hours of its arrival. Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\nSoar Raptors<\/a><\/h1>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\nLearn more from Soar<\/h1>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"2EaglesOnCarcass\"](\"http:\/\/new.soarraptors.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2EaglesOnCarcass-300x209.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\nHumane Society Veterinary Medical Association<\/a><\/h1>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\nMore resources:<\/h2>\n
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<\/a> ![\"Eagle](\"http:\/\/pawsacrossthenation.org\/pawsTalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Screen-shot-2016-02-26-at-3.42.08-AM.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\nWhy is a Solution Difficult to Reach?<\/h1>\n
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