Lead bullet fragments poison rare US condors

[Sunlei]

Conservationists in the United States say that fragments of lead ammunition continue to take a desperate toll on one of the country's rarest birds.

Since December, seven wild California condors from a population of 80 have died in the Grand Canyon area.

Three of the deaths have been definitively linked to ingesting lead from bullets in the carcasses of prey.

In an effort to save the high flying species, 166 of the birds have been reintroduced in Arizona and Utah since 1996.

Of these, 81 have died or disappeared. But experts believe that at least 38 of the birds have died as a result of eating lead fragments left in the guts piles and carcasses of game, shot by hunters. Condors are scavengers and mainly eat large amounts of carrion.
"The continuous deaths of Grand Canyon condors from lead poisoning is preventable if we finally treat toxic lead ammunition as we did lead paint and gasoline," he said.

Even though the Arizona Game and Fish Department distributes copper ammunition free to hunters, a small number continue to use lead. As a result each year up to half of the wild Grand Canyon condors require chelation treatment to remove high levels of lead from their blood.

link to article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22174702

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1. There is just no end

to the carnage.