Bald Eagles Keep Dying - Interior secretary repeals ban on lead bullets.

originally posted by: skunkape23
The bald eagles would probably do best not to eat off my land.
There is a whole lot of lead in the soil from many shotgun blasts over many years .
Maybe that's why those carrots tasted funny.

Thats just it, an accumulation of lead shot over the years is not something we want happening.
Whats wrong with alternative shot?
Steel is not as dense so doesn't carry as much kinetic energy, but it's a viable alternative.
Tungsten is hugely expensive.
The Bismuth shot seems to be ok, it's more expensive but not to a degree that is prohibitive.

What about all those sinkers from fisherman? No effect whatsoever right? It's only lead shot from guns. ..... Sure.

originally posted by: Natas0114
What about all those sinkers from fisherman? No effect whatsoever right? It's only lead shot from guns. ..... Sure.

Lead sinkers are targeted in some jurisdictions.
For example.
You can't use lead fishing sinkers or jigs in Canada's national parks and wildlife areas.

Lets keep the lead out of our environment as much as possible.
Leaded gas and leaded paint are gone, nobody misses them.

a reply to: smurfy

Whatever you want to tell yourself. The fact remains that raptors do no have the same gizzard function as birds that eat grain. No matter when you edited it's not true... and 9/11 has absolutely nothing to do with any of this. Biiig biiig stretch that has failed to fool anyone.

originally posted by: D8Tee

Thats just it, an accumulation of lead shot over the years is not something we want happening.
Whats wrong with alternative shot?
Steel is not as dense so doesn't carry as much kinetic energy, but it's a viable alternative.
Tungsten is hugely expensive.
The Bismuth shot seems to be ok, it's more expensive but not to a degree that is prohibitive.

That's right, though bismuth shot is not likely to be pure per se, a lot of stuff, especially metals is contaminated with by products..other metals perhaps. Soldering is not a good idea for us if you have no protection from the vapours for instance..I've done that in the past, and had a sniff just to measure the heat, that's not to say though since I am still here..thus far! Still that's getting a bit away from the subject a tad. However we have all seen pictures of bird kills, mostly many in number with no specific trauma, but it is also true that smaller group kills, still significant in number are the result of lead shot poisoning, and people that do the research also allow for other possible contaminants, deliberate like bait, or other sources. That's something to take on board, but do your own research, don't take my word for it, there's nothing simple about it, unlike this simple, daft political action as outlined in the OP.

originally posted by: Natas0114
What about all those sinkers from fisherman? No effect whatsoever right? It's only lead shot from guns. ..... Sure.

Lead fishing sinkers have been banned in all US and Canadian national parks for quite some time now. So a lot of readily available ones are made out of other materials. The big problem is the cost which is what keeps lead around.

The fact is that lead is highly poisonous and Republicans don't give a damn about it getting into the environment.

Why should anyone support people who don't care about them being exposed to toxins?

The Op's worst nightmare.


Good old scaremongering. Bald eagles have made a comeback

The real worry according to NPR is Eagles eating other rare species

www.npr.org...

originally posted by: CB328
The fact is that lead is highly poisonous and Republicans don't give a damn about it getting into the environment.

Why should anyone support people who don't care about them being exposed to toxins?

Nah, we have the tradeoff.

We can have lead in our shot or giant windmills that hack birds and bats to bits indiscriminately. Either way, human invention kills off the birds and bats.

No moral high ground.

this is anti hunter BS.
Very very few hunters leave dead carcasses with bullets still in them.
If hunter were required to bury or remove dead carcasses it would work better then banning lead bullets.

Eagles are more likely to get lead from fish that have lead weighed hooks in them.

When i hunted i would recover my bullets to see how well they expanded.

a reply to: Area201

Considering I live in the area with such a dense concentration of eagles they can accurately be called a "pest," I laugh at the premise of this thread. Lead bullets aren't killing Eagles. Considering the tonnage of lead fishing weights Alaska loses in our eagle feeding rivers, streams, and lakes every year, if lead poisoning were an issue you'd never experience a dead tree on the beaches of Homer with 2 dozen eagles perched on it nor could one count over 100 wading at low tide during the hooligan runs on the upper Cook Inlet.

originally posted by: ANNED

When i hunted i would recover my bullets to see how well they expanded.

This is about lead shot used in shotgun shells, has nothing to do with copper jacketed hunting bullets.

Not that it is on topic but tell me, how did you recover your bullets if you missed or the bullet passed through your critter?

There's no need for humans to be leaving lead litter all over our environment when there are non toxic alternatives.
What, you guys are for putting the lead back into the gasoline supply and the paint?

originally posted by: AboveBoard
a reply to: Area201

Because they've been brainwashed to believe that all regulations of any kind are bad?

Considering a lack of regulations and abundance of personal freedom is man's natural state, I say the brainwashed are obviously the ones who embrace unnatural restrictions and freedom opposing regulations. Mankind has to be TAUGHT to obey regulations...how can that be anything but brainwashing?

originally posted by: D8Tee
What, you guys are for putting the lead back into the gasoline supply and the paint?

I'd be fine with lead back in our gas. There's a reason cars run before the late 70s had engines that didn't have to have full overhauls every 100,000 miles. Leaded gas gave more power and protected engine wear far more than the additive laced crap sold today. There are also still applications of lead paint. The stuff lasts a lot long with less maintenance needed. I wouldn't paint the nursery with it, but a steel truss bridge? Hell yeah.

a reply to: Natas0114

Hmm, wtf are you talking about, do you you shoot the sinkers out of a gun, like hundreds at a time? generally you get the sinker back when you reel the damn line back in.
I think you are doing it wrong perhaps.??

a reply to: burdman30ott6

I'd be fine with lead back in our gas. There's a reason cars run before the late 70s had engines that didn't have to have full overhauls every 100,000 miles. Leaded gas gave more power and protected engine wear far more than the additive laced crap sold today. There are also still applications of lead paint. The stuff lasts a lot long with less maintenance needed. I wouldn't paint the nursery with it, but a steel truss bridge? Hell yeah.

Which engines are you talking about that need full overhauls every 100,000 miles?
Leaded gas did not give more power, it allowed engines to be built to a higher compression rating without experiencing knock. The additives in use today do the same thing without the lead being put into the atmosphere.
While we heard rumors that valve jobs were going to be needed as often as tune ups. That prediction never came true and, actually, the removal of lead from gasoline had a positive effect by not having to deal with the deposits created by the leaded fuels.
In fact most oilfield primary drives around here are 350 Chevrolets that run on natural gas, it is as dry as you can get, with no lubricant for valves or upper cylinders. and they literally run forever when given regular oil changes with a quality lubricant.

There is a field behind my house.
There was a stray cat that stalked and killed birds.
Was.
An eagle snatched up the cat.

I don't know what the eagle did with it, but there are more birds in my backyard since the eagle snatched up the cat.

America.

a reply to: c2oden

That's a ballsy eagle, but those talons aren't to be trifled with.

It's too bad about the cat, I can guess exactly what the eagle did with it.

originally posted by: Ksihkehe
a reply to: smurfy

Whatever you want to tell yourself. The fact remains that raptors do no have the same gizzard function as birds that eat grain. No matter when you edited it's not true... and 9/11 has absolutely nothing to do with any of this. Biiig biiig stretch that has failed to fool anyone.

if you say so, but the fact remain that the gizzard function is the same as in all birds, to aid digestion, the stuff that cannot be digested by eagles is a boke up, while eagles and the like have varying prey, they still have the use of grit in the diet itself, and unavoidable given their varied diet, and that they have no teeth, like all birds. Lead shot though is not part of their natural cycle, neither would be the like of human activies in other areas like mining where those products or by products can easily harm eagles and probably many ground animals that eagles or the like might feed off.
It's us who need a learning curve, not the animals...that's not to say though that animals will not have a learning curve of their own in the passage of time.

originally posted by: vonclod
a reply to: Natas0114

Hmm, wtf are you talking about, do you you shoot the sinkers out of a gun, like hundreds at a time? generally you get the sinker back when you reel the damn line back in.
I think you are doing it wrong perhaps.??

Have you ever been to a reservoir that has a fluctuating water level? At the popular fishing spots, when the water is low, you can walk around and pick up tons of tackle that has been snagged and lost.