Future of lead shot grows uncertain

By John Cross
Free Press Staff Writer

August 31, 2008 01:37 am

— It was 1991 when lead shot was banned for all waterfowl hunting in the U.S. and by now, most hunters have grudgingly come to accept non-toxic alternatives.
The ban was instituted after years of investigation yielded strong evidence that spent lead shot was the cause of significant mortality in waterfowl that ingested it while feeding. Raptors that fed on waterfowl carcasses containing lead shot also were falling victim to lead poisoning.
Now there is increasing concern over the danger of lead in most other kinds of hunting where lead bullets and lead shot are used as well.
In California, the death of condors has been linked to lead bullet fragments from the gut piles of big game left by hunters, which the birds then fed on.
Closer to home, both in North Dakota and in Minnesota, venison donation programs were suspended and donated meat thrown away earlier this year after lead fragments were found in many of the packages.
Research now reveals that lead poisoning extends well beyond the scope of waterfowl, affecting upland species and even those of us who consume wild game taken with lead materials.
But none of this is really new.
In fact, evidence of lead poisoning in pheasants was documented more than 100 years ago, said Dick Kimmel, group leader at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Farmland Wildlife Research Center near Madelia.
“There were reports of pheasants and lead poisoning back in the 1870’s,” he said.
Kimmel, along with DNR biologist Molly Tranel, authored a paper documenting the lead poisoning research conducted by biologists over the years on more than 100 species of birds and game, as well as the humans that consume them.
Their compilation of the studies conducted over decades was prompted in part by claims extended by major gun lobbies that no real evidence exists to indicate that lead bullets or lead shot are responsible.
Instead, in the California case, for example, efforts to ban lead bullets or shot have been painted as an anti-hunting ploy rather than an environmental and health issue.
In Minnesota and other states, federal regulations already ban lead shot on all Federal Waterfowl Production Areas.
And there are clear indications that in Minnesota as in other states, hunters can expect more lead shot restrictions.
As a result of a Wildlife Roundtable initiative, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources formed an advisory council in 2006 to study the issue.
The group concluded that while costs preclude gathering absolute data, they agreed, among other things, that lead is toxic to humans and wildlife and that at some point, lead shot will have to be restricted in the future.
They identified potential regulatory options ranging from merely restricting lead shot on certain areas for certain species to a complete ban of the use of lead shot statewide for all small-game hunting.
Earlier this year, legislation was introduced that would have banned lead shot on State Wildlife Management Areas located in farmland areas of the state, a policy that already is in effect statewide in Iowa and South Dakota.
That bill, supported by the DNR, would have gone into effect in 2011. However, it was withdrawn by its author before action could be taken.
In the meantime, the clock is ticking. Kimmel and Tranel’s paper, which stretches for 25 pages including cited sources, provides ample evidence that lead continues to enter the environment and our diets through the use of our lead shot.
“The DNR right now has no plans on where this is going,” Tranel said of the paper. “It is more of an outreach ... as conservationists, hunters will want the word out.”
And Kimmel pointed out that just as lead is not required for life, neither is it required to be a successful hunter, since many non-toxic alternatives rival or exceed traditional lead loads’ performance.
“My son and I both used “Heavi Shot” [a non-toxic lead substitute] to kill turkeys this spring, and they went down right now,” he said.

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