Poisoning caused by preying on or scavenging animals shot by hunters using lead ammunition has left the populations of many raptors – or birds of prey – far smaller than they should be, according to the first study to calculate these impacts across Europe. When birds like eagles and Red Kites scavenge carcasses or eat injured animals with fragments of toxic lead from gun ammunition embedded in their bodies they can become poisoned, suffering slow and painful deaths. Smaller doses have been shown to alter behaviour and physiology. Now, scientists from the University of Cambridge have used data on lead levels in the livers of over 3,000 raptors found dead in more than a dozen countries to calculate the extent to which poisoning by lead ammunition has affected Europe’s ...
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Bald eagles have lifted themselves from the brink of extinction in the United States but deaths caused by lead poisoning from ingesting hunters' bullets left in wildlife remains are holding back their population recovery, scientists say. Population increases of the majestic bird recognized as the national symbol of the United States have been suppressed by 6.3 percent for males and 4.2 percent for females, said the study by researchers at the Department of Public and Ecosystem Health at Cornell University, published in the Journal of Wildlife Management this week. "Mortalities from the ingestion of (lead) reduced the long-term growth rate and resiliency of bald eagles in the northeast United States over the last 3 decades," the study said. FILE PHOTO: The last rays of sunlight il...
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