Blue Ridge Wildlife Center warns against use of lead bullets in hunting

Last month, Blue Ridge Wildlife Center (BRWC) admitted four bald eagles, our country’s national bird, three with lethal levels of lead in their blood due to hunters’ use of lead-encased ammunition. The fourth eagle was treated for an electrocution injury.

It was only last July 10 that the Royal Examiner published an article – “Unlicensed, ignorant hunters poison environment with lead ammo” – under its “Local News” banner. The story, in effect, asked local licensed hunters to turn to non-lead ammunition if they hadn’t already done so; and suggested a previous disregard of available information concerning an outbreak of lead poisoning among the Valley’s wildlife, likely by unlicensed hunters, was at cause.

According to BRWC’s veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Riley, scavengers like hawks, vultures and eagles prey on shot animals and ingest poisonous lead and eventually die from lead toxicity. Last summer, Riley, who treats more than 2,000 mostly indigenous animals a year at the Boyce center, voiced alarm at the increase in lead toxicity among her patients, particularly birds, hastening to absolve licensed hunters who are “frequently ardent conservationists” and blaming illegal shooters.

In this 2016 photo by Andy Morffew, taken in Alaska, an American Bald Eagle is poised ‘to launch’. Now our national symbol is at risk, along with other birds of prey, from the use of lead bullets by hunters. Photo/Wikipedia Commons-Creative Commons, Andy Morffew

In a release on March 1, BRWC again brought public attention to the dangers of lead poisoning “in our nation’s birds,” saying in regard to three of the four eagles under treatment, “These cases are very sad, but not unusual. We see lead poisoning cases every year… and these cases closely follow deer and bear hunting seasons.

“When ammunition that contains lead is used to hunt… ‘gut piles’ are left in the field (by hunters) containing lead fragments which are ingested by birds of prey,” the release noted, adding, “Any type of ammunition that contains lead can result in these fragments being left behind, including solid lead bullets, lead-tipped bullets, jacketed lead core bullets and shotgun shot.”

Riley was kept busy last month attempting to remove lead from the four bald eagles’ blood, as well as treating other issues including kidney disease and fractures. All were reported as stable and healing.

The release recognized several “news outlets” – but not the local online Royal Examiner – for “helping get out the message regarding the dangers of lead in our environment.”

Nonetheless, the Examiner is pleased to continue its assistance in getting the word out.