Bald eagles are getting fatal lead poisoning from the most all-American source imaginable

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Bald eagles are turning up dead from lead poisoning all across Michigan for a surprising reason.

It doesn't take much lead to sicken or kill a bald eagle, and wildlife rehabilitators say the birds are being poisoned by accidentally ingesting bullets while scavenging carcasses from animals killed by hunters using lead ammunition, reported MLive.

“If you’ve ever seen an eagle that has been poisoned, it’s something you’ll never forget,” said John Buchweitz, nutrition and toxicology section chief at Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. “The animal may go blind. They can develop tremors. They can lose their ability to fly. It’s a sad statement on the truly adverse effects of a chemical, like lead, on an animal.”

-snip-

A study published last year found nearly half of bald and golden eagles nationwide tested positive for chronic lead poisoning, and it's the third leading cause of death for the species in Michigan, and research shows the main source is lead ammunition from wild game carcasses and the entrails hunters leave behind from cleaning game in the field.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/bald-eagles-are-getting-fatal-lead-poisoning-from-the-most-all-american-source-imaginable/ar-AA172atq

[hlthe2b]

1. Add to that Avian flu and we are rapidly going to exterminate our National Symbol...

Almost apropos given the direction the RW is taking us, though.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

2. The National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minnesota

sees to the care and education about some of America's birds, including the Bald Eagle.

They work in tandem with the University of Minnesota and the DNR here. I am sure Michigan has a similar center as well. Or have been in contact with the Center in Wabasha.

I have been there several times and learn something mew each time.

[Blue Owl]

3. Isn't it metaphoric

That America's symbol is being killed by the NRA....

[Permanut]

4. Some nontoxic shot regulations are in place..

And conscientious hunters will comply. Others, and you know who I'm talking about, claim that since steel shot causes excessive wear on their shotguns, their gun rights are being taken away.

This has been an issue for something like 50 years in various jurisdictions.

Boatloads of info and history available online. A sample:

[link:https://www.nytimes.com/1977/12/25/archives/new-jersey-opinion-a-hunting-dispute-steel-vs-lead-steel-shot.html|

[progressoid]

5. Bbbbbut what about the windmills!

[DBoon]

6. It must be the Covid Vax that's killing Bald Eagles!

/ sarcasm

[no_hypocrisy]

7. Against federal law to kill bald eagles.

[NickB79]

8. There are plenty of solid copper alternatives to the traditional lead core/copper jacket bullet

Barnes X-Bullets are available in every popular rifle caliber, are available for reloading if you shoot an exotic or wildcat caliber, in pistol calibers, and even for shotguns and muzzleloaders. They expand reliably on game and cut a big wound channel.

The only downside is that copper bullets are more expensive, but you only fire a few in a hunting season on big game. A $30 box of 20 will last you a few years. Use cheaper lead-core rounds at the range for practice where the dirt berms contain the lead, shoot a few copper rounds to verify your zero is good (zero can change when changing bullets), and go hunting.

The one caliber that is woefully lacking in non-lead alternatives right now is the ever-popular .22LR. I'd love to switch to a non-lead .22 load, but so far the few varieties that have been made are horribly inaccurate past 40 yards. I rectify this by shooting into a bullet trap on my backyard shooting range so that I can catch the lead.