Hunters are advised by the Utah Wildlife Rehabilitation Center to cease using lead ammunition

Ogden, Utah – After an eagle died in the Beehive State, a wildlife rehabilitation agency in Utah is now urging sportsmen to switch from lead to copper ammunition. “In the end, the loss of this beautiful individual was preventable,” the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah posted on social media by writing.

According to the rehabilitation facility, the bald eagle is their first of the year and passed away from lead toxicity caused by hunting rifle bullets. After using a lead-testing machine, they came to that conclusion.

“While the symptoms are similar to those when an Eagle contracts the West Nile Virus (WNV), the WNV is primarily a” summer sickness “as the prime vector is the mosquito,” said the institute.

The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah reports that lead poisoning in predators, such as the bald eagle, occurs annually shortly after the rifle deer season begins and lasts until March. They attribute it to scavengers and predators consuming the stomach heaps left over after successful kills.

“Lead ammunition fragments when it hits its target and is dispersed along a fairly wide path as the slug travels through,” the center said. “Fragments as small as the tip of a pencil are enough to kill an Eagle once ingested.”

According to the National Park Service, eagles, hawks, ravens, turkey vultures, and grizzly bears are all affected by consuming spent lead ammunition, supporting their assertions.

According to the National Park Service, one of the main risks to the California condor’s recovery is the possibility of lead poisoning. “Semi-annual test results show that the majority of free-flying condors at Pinnacles National Park have blood lead levels that exceed 10 ug/dL (micrograms per deciliter), which is the same threshold used by the Center for Disease Control as an initial warning sign that a human child is at risk,” said the National Park Service.

Scavengers are not the only danger. According to a published study, 34% of the 324 packets of ground venison and entire steaks that were randomly chosen from game meat processors included metal pieces.

However, what steps can be taken to safeguard both people and animals? One difference, according to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah, is the switch from lead to copper ammunition. When lead ammunition strikes its target, it breaks up and spreads out over a rather large area as the slug passes through. Once consumed, pieces as little as a pencil tip can kill an Eagle,” the center warned.

The center acknowledges that the expense of the ammunition is one justification against the change, but they contend that the death of animals represents a far greater loss in value. “After purchasing trucks, RVs, ATVs, guns, fuel, clothing, food, etc. what is the real disadvantage of the cost of a box of copper that makes it so” over the top “?”