We have known for more than 40 years that lead in fishing tackle erodes within the digestive tract of loons, enters their bloodstream and leads to their deaths.
A recent presentation by a vulture researcher in South Africa has brought attention to lead contamination and toxicity in raptors. The tissue of animals killed with lead bullets become contaminated when microscopic lead particles shear off as the bullet travels through tissue, organs, and muscles. Vultures scavenge on carcasses, which they feed to, and subsequently poison, their own chicks.
According to the the WHO, CDC and EPA, there is no safe level of lead in the blood. We have been phasing out lead in our gasoline since the 70s, yet people still hunt with lead bullets and consume a carcass that is unsafe for consumption - 'safely' avoiding eating the organ in which the bullet is embedded is not safe enough (and contaminated pieces are left for other unsuspecting wildlife).
Why are we still using lead ammunition when there are lead free alternatives for hunting? The New York Times stated in 2018 that "About 95 percent of ... ammunition purchased every year in the United States contain lead" (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/24/us/ammunition-lead-bullets-condors.html)
Lead is a highly toxic metal; a cumulative toxicant; a dangerous neurotoxin. For all animal life.
A Norwegian study reported in 2018 found that "IQ scores have been steadily falling for the past few decades, and environmental factors are to blame ..."
Lead exposure is preventable, and yet ... economics and suspicion prevail.
2 comments:
States including California, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York have banned the use of lead fishing weights out of concern for their potential harm to wildlife. Common sense rules!
Thanks Scott. I ought to have included that.
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