Below is a quotation from the "Outdoors Dan" column that I posted earlier.
"Several studies have shown lead shot has little effect on raptors.
Raptors in Iowa are everywhere, and are having a huge impact on our game bird and
small game populations."
Ingested lead shot most definitely affects raptors. Some raptor species
in Iowa are NOT everywhere, and are not doing well. And the studies I've
heard about and read indicate that foxes and feral cats are the biggest
pheasant predators in Iowa, with coyotes and some other mammalian predators
farther down on the list. And of course habitat loss is the biggest issue by
far, followed by weather.
When it comes to Iowa game bird population losses, raptors are not the
problem. And blaming raptors in print for the pheasant decline could
encourage the law-breakers in Iowa who kill hawks, and from what I hear, there are
still a few of them out there.
I'll say it again. The DES MOINES REGISTER is Iowa's largest newspaper,
and the REGISTER should be able to provide better writing on (what's left
of) its outdoor page.
And for whatever it's worth, I'm not anti-hunting. I don't hunt, but am
lucky enough to know several good hunters who are conservation-minded, who
care about wildlife in general as well as game species, who never trespass,
and who are constantly concerned about hunting rules and ethics. I'm
grateful that a few such hunters hunt my land, especially since the deer
population in Story County is still much too high.
I am absolutely anti-slob-hunting, however, especially having had a few
experiences with the results of slob hunting. And the good hunters I know
hate slob-hunting more than I do.
ch
Cindy Hildebrand
[log in to unmask]
Ames, IA 50010
"Winter is not a season, it's an occupation." (Sinclair Lewis)
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