Hunters To Blame For The Lead Poisoning of Eagles

By George

DENMARK, Wis. (WBAY) – The Raptor Education Group in Antigo says the eagles are sick from eating the remains of deer harvested during the statewide youth hunt a few weeks ago. Another eagle recently died.

The group is urging hunters to use bullets without lead, but eliminating lead ammunition in Wisconsin could be a hard sell.

At Bradley Gun Sales in Denmark, nearly all the ammunition for deer hunting contains lead.

“It’s all they ever made them out of and I don’t think that is going to change, it expands when it hits for more knockdown power, relatively cheaper to make than steel,” says owner Arlyn Bradley.

As Bradley points out, most deer hunting ammunition today is copper jacketed, which he says rarely fragments.

But some bullets are full copper, which he prefers.

“All hunters that I know and speak to, we would never want any eagles to die for any reason,” adds avid deer hunter Andy Pantzlaff from Maribel.

Pantzlaff says states like California will soon require all hunters to use full copper bullets, which he feels would have a negative impact in Wisconsin.

“It’s going to affect 2.5 million people in the state of Wisconsin to go to solid …Read the Rest

Source:: Patriot Outdoor News