Lead poisoning is an important global conservation problem for many species of wildlife, especially raptors. Despite the increasing number of individual studies and regional reviews of lead poisoning of raptors, it has been over a decade since this information has been compiled into a comprehensive global review. Here, we summarize the state of knowledge of lead poisoning of raptors, we review developments in manufacturing of non-lead ammunition, the use of which can reduce the most pervasive source of lead these birds encounter, and we compile data on voluntary and regulatory mitigation options and their associated sociological context.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWildlife and human health are at risk of lead exposure from spent hunting ammunition. Lead exposure persists for bald eagles due to bullet fragments in game animal gut piles and unretrieved carcasses, and is also a human health risk when wild game is procured using lead ammunition. Programs encouraging the voluntary use of nonlead ammunition have become a popular approach mitigating these effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInformation about the annual variation of trichomoniasis in mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) may be important in understanding mechanisms affecting mourning dove populations. The objectives of this study were to monitor the presence and annual variation of Trichomonas gallinae for 6 yr in a local mourning dove population using hunter-killed doves. During 1998-2003, 4052 hunter-killed doves were sampled for the presence of T.
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