Thanks to Pagent for recommending that I repost to this thread.
Thanks to all who responded to my original post about the dangers to wildlife from lead ammunition and fishing tackle.
First, some good news:
House votes to protect the Endangered Species Act
http://www.audubon.org/newsroom/press-releases/2011/audubon-welcomes-good-news-washington-dcAnd more good news:
Cleanup Launched to Stop Lead Poisoning of up to 10,000 Albatross Chicks
Each Year on Hawaii's Midway Island
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2011/laysan-albatross-07-13-2011.htmlI also recommend reading "Proceedings of the Conference: Ingestion of Lead from Spent Ammunition: Implications for Wildlife and Humans" (
http://www.peregrinefund.org/subsites/conference-lead/2008PbConf_Proceedings.htm)
You can look on this thread and the Eagle Education and Information thread for more discussion and info.
How can we work individually (and with others) to get rid of lead bullets and fishing weights? I urge everyone who cares about eagles and all wildlife to educate yourself (and others) about the issue of lead ammunition and fishing weights. There are many studies and observations that can be found on the web and in your library. I also urge you to contact your representatives in whatever state or country you live and ask what they're doing to "get the lead out".
I try to speak with as many people as I can — especially people who hunt and fish — about the effects of spent lead ammunition and fishing weights. I have gone to places where hunters congregate in the autumn where I hand out information about lead and wildlife (I tend to give them information about the danger to humans, but I have the other info with me if they want it). I communicate often with my state and U.S. representatives to let them know how I feel about the banning of lead ammunition. I have spoken with local conservation commissions about how to educate the public about lead and wildlife. I am currently organizing a "meet & greet" at our local Audubon sanctuary with local hunters to discuss how they can be better conservationists, and I will beg them to stop using lead ammunition. (I happen to be a vegan, and have never hunted in my life, but I am taking hunters at their word when they say they are interested in preservation and conservation.) I hope to get invited to the nearby Bass Pro Shop to talk with hunters there, as well.
Unfortunately, even in the face of so many studies that prove the danger to animals all along the food chain from lead bullets and fishing tackle, the answer from a certain quarter has been, "The only danger posed from a lead bullet is to the animal it hits." I have spent hours reading the senseless denials and refusals to accept the reams and reams of research available. Even the Army was convinced and stopped using lead bullets (see below)! Still, the concerns of people who see the banning of lead ammunition as a threat to them and their way of life are more widely publicized and better funded than the efforts of those of us who have seen the devastation from lead firsthand. How anyone who calls herself a "patriot" can defend the use of lead bullets after she sees the death of a Bald Eagle from lead poisoning is beyond me. So, we need to get the word out everywhere and in any (peaceful) way we can.
What a generation before us did to remove deadly DDT from the environment, we can do today to remove lead.
Here are some organizations doing some good work in the struggle against lead. You probably already know about them, but I've listed them, just in case:
The Center for Biological Diversity, and their page "PROTECT WILDLIFE FROM LEAD POISONING":
http://action.biologicaldiversity.org/p/dia/action/public/index.sjs?action_KEY=7006The Audubon Society at
http://www.audubon.org/ . They have ongoing actions and ways to help.
The RRP has some great sites listed in their links:
http://raptorresource.org/links/research.html* Army stops using lead bullets:
This year, the Army decided to use lead-free ammunition after being convinced by studies from Washington State University and the Boise-based Peregrine Fund:
A Washington State University study showed that people who consume venison from game animals killed with lead bullets may be ingesting the poisonous metal themselves - and that can cause brain damage in children and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke in adults. X-rays showed processed ground venison from 80 percent of deer sampled in Wyoming contained metal fragments, of which 92 percent were lead. (It's motivation enough for me that lead harms and destroys wildlife — the fact that it harms humans, as well, is just more fuel to the fire.)
The Peregrine Fund discovered the lead bullet problem when it began reintroducing California condors back into in California and Arizona. It discovered most of the birds had elevated levels of lead in their system, which scientists conclude came from gut piles and dead game animals shot by hunters.
