The irony was thick in Tuesday’s opinion pages. A letter from the Red Cross encouraged humans to lessen environmental disaster, (“Red Cross takes on growing disasters,” Dec. 26) while another by a shooting sports foundation lawyer (“Ban on lead ammo unnecessary,” Dec. 26) told us not to worry about toxic lead bullets in our environment.
Speaking in support of lead bullets, the lawyer suggests using lead ammunition is a healthy way to manage wildlife populations and poses no ill health effects on humans, which is reminiscent of what the tobacco lobby said about cigarettes.
Lead has been proven again and again to show its deadly and debilitating health effects on humans – including slowing brain development in children – and wildlife. It’s why lead is removed from paint and children’s toys. To say otherwise would be deceitful to families who eat deer or elk, and a vast array of wildlife that deserves our best protection.
Every year more than 4,000 tons of lead is shot into the environment by hunting, which poisons and kills an estimated 20 million birds and other wildlife. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that our high-use hunting areas may contain about 400,000 pieces of lead shot per acre.
Hunters who shoot big game such as deer, elk or moose using lead bullets leave tiny, widespread fragments in their kill, which are ingested by hunters and their families, as well as bald eagles, golden eagles, foxes and other scavengers along the food chain.
Using synchrotron imaging, researchers show the spread of lead bullet fragments are smaller in size than once thought and more widely dispersed than previously captured through X-ray imaging.
Lead causes widespread damage to cells and organs when it is ingested, inhaled, or absorbed in surprisingly small quantities. Lead is cumulative, meaning every exposure adds up. Once in the body, lead spreads to the brain, liver, kidney and bones; it gets stored in teeth and bones and accumulates over time.
It’s great to see growing concern about toxic lead ammunition. For example, Michigan cautions all women of child-bearing age and young children against eating meat killed with high-velocity lead bullets.
Additionally, lead ammunition has been documented to affect dozens of species, especially birds, and is taking a massive toll on wildlife in general. More than 500 scientific studies published since 1898 have documented that worldwide, 134 species of wildlife are negatively affected by lead ammunition.
Eagles are particularly susceptible and suffer from lead poisoning that derives primarily from hunters’ ammunition, according to a study in the journal Science.
Studies show nearly half of all eagles have toxic lead in their bones and teeth. Raptor rehabbers continue to report an increase in eagles falling ill after ingesting lead, becoming immobile as their digestive systems shut down and they slowly starve to death. All it takes is a small amount to kill an adult bald eagle and they never naturally recover from toxic lead.
The lead pathway in the ecosystem can threaten the very survival of a species. This is happening with the critically endangered California condor. Because condors feed on dead animals and are group feeders, even small amounts of lead can sicken or kill many condors, and there are only about 558 left in the wild.
While the U.S. Fish and Wildlife will phase out lead ammunition by 2026 on some of its eight identified National Wildlife Refuges, the ban needs to go further. Hunting is allowed inside 75 designated areas of our National Parks system, inside our National Forests, and grasslands, too. Fishing that includes lead tackle is also widespread on public lands.
According to 50 years of research, there is no safe level of lead exposure. We must prohibit lead ammunition and lead fishing tackle swiftly and broadly. Sticking our heads in the sand is not going to work.
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