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.
Photo : Black kite (Milvus migrans) juvenile France
Red kite populations are 3% smaller due to lead shot
Now, scientists from the University of Cambridge and the RSPB 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 raptor populations.
Source : RSPB
Text : Vanessa Amaral-Rogers
Photo : Stephen Rennie