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)