I hope this will cover some of the concerns voiced in the original email. Please go to
The problem with using lead bullets in deer hunting is that the lead shatters upon impact with bone and gets into the tissue, which can then be ingested by eagles and other scavengers that feed on the remains of the carcass or gut pile. There are lots of examples of this happening:
"Since 2004, SOAR has been compiling statewide eagle data that now includes over 180 eagles. All of these eagles had either a BLL [blood lead levels] taken or the lead level was determined post-mortem via liver biopsy. Over half of these eagles had abnormal lead levels in blood, liver, or bone. This is a much higher percentage than the random types of injuries, seen in other species."
As for the effect on other wildlife, including small birds: (from the DMR article)
"Many birds consume small gravel or grit to aid in digestion. They also end up consuming tiny lead shot pellets. “The ingestion of a single shot can be fatal,” according to a review by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection."
Here's a quote from Greg Drees, a Natural Resources Commission member, in the DMR article: “I’m a lifelong hunter,” he said. “Few people are in the field bird hunting more than I am each year, and I haven’t shot lead for more than 20 years. Nontoxic shot is faster, more efficient and in no way more expensive than lead.” If Dearden and other hunters would simply experiment with nontoxic shot, they would realize the truth, he said.
> Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 18:46:10 -0600
> From:
[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: steel vs lead shot, complex issues
> To:
[log in to unmask]>
> All us "antihunters" and "nonhunters" need to examine our consciences? Wow. I'll be sure to tell Greg Drees, one of the most avid hunters I know.
>
> Donna
>
>
>
>
> On Jan 9, 2012, at 5:54 PM,
[log in to unmask] wrote:
>
> > I am sometimes a defender of issues unpopular with some in the Sierra Club. I would liked to discuss the steel vs. lead shot issue. The issue is not near as simple as some my think.
> >
> > Over 30 years ago federal law required those hunting geese and ducks to start using steel or other nonlead shot. There was evidence that some waterfowl that fed along the bottom were picking up lead and dying of lead poisoning. The situation was unique to waterfowl hunting because it is done over the very limited areas of water, especially shallow water, used by ducks and geese. The steel shot will rust away eventually and not poison waterfowl if consumed. Hunters quickly embraced this solution because it was good for waterfowl. There are several problems with nonlead shot. First is the expense. A box of steel shotgun shells can cost significantly more than shells with lead shot. Shot with tungsten and bismuth cost even more. Also, some think the harder steel damages their shotgun barrel. Most important, steel is less dense than lead ,and for an equal weight of shot steel pellets must be larger than lead ones. Fewer balls of steel can fit into a shotgun shell compared to a lead shell. That creates a less dense shot pattern at a distance and leads to more wounding of birds. Also, the lower density and greater size of steel shot means the shot hits with less force that results in more wounded birds.
> >
> > I was surprised at the effort by the Sierra Club and others to require steel shot for dove hunting. Dove hunters use very tiny shot pellets (the size of a big pencil dot) to create a large, dense pattern to hit the fast flying, maneuvering dove. As above, steel shot means fewer pellets per shell with less force resulting in more wounding. Unlike the concentrated waterfowl hunting areas, dove hunting occurs over wide areas and the shot is scattered over wide areas. Dove hunting usually takes place over crop fields. It would help to know what animals might consume enough lead shot to cause morbidity and mortality. Deer, turkeys, and squirrels do not feed like some ducks that filter the bottom of ponds for food. They are capable of picking up individual kernels of corn or soybean.
> >
> > I have never seen any scientific study that shows lead shot is detrimental to wildlife outside of aquatic areas. If you know of any please let me know. But just thinking, hunters use large quantities of lead shot when hunting pheasant. There is a heck of a lot of lead shot sitting around Iowa fields (not to mention Kansas and S. Dakota). If the lead shot was so detrimental, we should have solid evidence of the ill effects by now.
> >
> > Don’t confuse the small shot of bird hunting with the problem of lead poisoning in condors. A deer might be wounded with a bullet that contains a much larger lump of lead. When the wounded deer dies, the condor might well consume a lethal does of lead. Copper bullets are available and might be required in areas of concern with condors. At this point in their development, copper bullets are not as accurate as lead bullets. Perhaps further R and D will solve this problem. Inaccurate bullets can wound rather thanhumanely kill wildlife.
> >
> > Most deer hunters in Iowa use lead bullets. A missed shot means ½ to 1 ounce of lead lying around the forest. Again, if that causes a problem I think we would know about it. I use the copper bullets for deer hunting .
> >
> > Finally, I think some need to examine their conscience. When the dove hunting bill was passed, the battle was lost for the antihunters. You might complain that the legislative process was too cryptic, etc., but that is beside the point really. After the bill passed, this email newsletter caused some to quickly start calling for the use of steel shot on doves. I doubt that these nonhunters knew much of anything about the above concerns about steel shot. It seemed to me that the call for steel shot was more about people being piqued at the dove hunting and seeking some revenge. If you think steel shot is so good for doves, where’s you voice been all these years while hunters used lead shot on pheasant?
> >
> > For the steel vs lead shot, there are the ever present tradeoffs as in most issues. I do not see any evidence that using steel shot for doves will benefit wildlife. It may balance out to be more harmful to the wounded wildlife.
> >
> > Lanny Schwartz
> >
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