Contamination from Lead Bullets Continue to Threaten Wildlife and Humans

Photo: USFWS

A recent study has found elevated levels of lead in Ravens during hunting season. The Peregrine Fund highlights these findings and points out humans who eat hunted game are also likely to be at risk from lead poisoning.

In response, North Dakota state health officials have ordered food banks to throw away donated venison because it contains lead fragments. See Lead advisory forces ND food pantries to pull venison for more details (Grand Forks Herald, By James MacPherson, AP BISMARCK). Dr. William Cornatzer, a Bismarck physician, made the discovery after reading about the problem in a Peregrine Fund report.

“Ammunition manufacturers and retail stores need to make non-lead ammunition available for all hunters to avoid unfortunate situations such as the venison recall in North Dakota,” said Dr. Michael Fry, Director of American Bird Conservancy’s Pesticides and Birds Program. “Lead fragments poison humans and birds alike; hunters and consumers of hunted game need to be aware of the danger.”

Recently, there has been a great deal of attention on the problem of lead bullets due to the poisonings of endangered California Condors, highlighted by the report of Michael Fry. While there has been progress made to ban use of lead bullets within the range of the condor in California, more work remains to protect the free flying birds in both California and Arizona. Unfortunately, the study of Ravens in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem indicates that poisonings of birds, both scavengers and raptors, caused by lead bullets is a widespread problem.

A conference to further explore this link, “Ingestion of Spent Lead Ammunition: Implications for Wildlife and Humans,” will be held May 12-15, 2008, at Boise State University. The Peregrine Fund expects to release results of continuing studies on lead in hunter-killed animals at the conference. Derek Craighead, author of the Raven study is also expected to present additional data showing that lead is reaching lethal levels for Golden and Bald Eagles during hunting season.