Blue Ridge Wildlife Center Patient of the Week: Bald Eagle

Photos / Blue Ridge Wildlife Center

Lead ammunition hurts wildlife, the environment, and people.

This young Bald Eagle was picked up near a landfill in Stafford County, VA after being found down and unable to fly.

In addition to having elevated lead levels, this bird had signs of trauma including bleeding into the lungs and minor eye damage. It is not uncommon for birds with high lead levels to fly into buildings, trees, windows, or other stationary items due to the loss of coordination associated with the heavy metal toxicity.

In fact, most of our lead toxicity birds are brought into care after they have suffered some type of physical trauma.

Deer hunting season is gearing up in our area and we always see a dramatic uptick in lead cases. If you hunt, please consider switching to non-lead ammunition. Lead not only contaminates the meat people may ingest, but poorly-buried gut piles (or animals intentionally left in the field) are continuing to poison our wildlife at an alarming rate. Greater than 80% of our eagles and vultures come to our hospital with high lead levels and this percentage is far higher in the late fall/early winter (hunting season).

This toxic metal is not only harmful to wildlife, but humans as well, especially pregnant women and children.

Given the damage lead is causing to wildlife, hunters and their families, and the recipients of venison donations, it is time to make the switch to non-lead ammunition.

For now, we are working to get this patients lead levels down, treat the inflammation in the eyes and lungs, and hopefully get this eagle back home soon!

If you are interested in learning more about the negative effect lead has on people, wildlife, and the environment, and alternatives to lead ammunition, please check out these websites:

• Lead in Venison: What Every Hunting Family Should Know
• Lead Contamination in Ground Venison from Shotgun-Harvested White-Tailed Deer in Illinois
• Alternatives to Lead Ammunition