DEC should mandate lead-free ammunition

Once again, the state Department of Environmental Conservation has struck out on addressing a major health risk to humans and wildlife. The agency released a 10-year plan for white-tailed deer management covering populations, harvests, health and other aspects of this well-known animal. Conspicuously absent is any significant mention of the documented threat of lead ammunition extensively used for deer hunting.

High-speed lead ammo fragments upon striking a target.

One study showed that 94 percent of deer shot with lead contained fragments, dispersed far from the entry point. This creates a significant lead exposure risk from consuming venison. Children are especially susceptible to lead, with brain and nervous system damage, slowed growth and development, and learning and behavior problems, all adverse effects according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Among wildlife, bald eagles are particularly affected by spent lead ammunition. Wildlife rehabilitators in New York regularly receive emaciated, lethargic eagles with high blood lead levels. Numbers of these sickened birds spike during and after big game hunting season, almost certainly from eagles scavenging deer carcasses and gut piles. A fragment of lead the size of a grain of rice can kill an eagle. Even when treated, the birds frequently have neurological damage that prevents successful hunting, leading to death from starvation after release.

Society has made a concerted effort to reduce lead — removing it from paint, plumbing, gasoline, even fishing tackle in New York. But lead ammunition remains a significant and widespread source of this toxin.

DEC is aware of these dangers from lead ammunition, but continues to ignore them — even though nontoxic alternatives exist that are ballistically superior and allow hunters to continue their sport. There is even precedent for switching: Waterfowl hunters now use nontoxic shot after lead was found to be poisoning loons and other birds.

The 78-page DEC deer management document contains exactly two sentences mentioning lead ammunition, with no plan for change over the next decade. By continuing to accept this ongoing menace to the public, including children, and to wildlife, the agency is abdicating its mission to protect the state's natural resources and enhance the health, safety and welfare of the people of New York.