According to a study published on Wednesday, the population of prey birds in Europe is about 55,000 less than that caused by feed contamination by lead contained in hunters' ammunition.
The study, led by researchers from the University of Cambridge, was published as the first study to calculate the effects of this addiction throughout Europe.
Scientists analyzed data collected on the concentration of lead in the liver of 3,000 raptors of 22 species that died or died in 13 European countries (United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland and Greece) collected since the 1970s.
Researchers estimate that for 10 of these species, contamination of prey by lead from ammunition was a decrease of 55,000 adult birds in the European sky compared to the number that could occur if this did not happen.
The model indicates that the population is 6% less than without the effects of this poisoning, which causes “slow and painful” deaths for affected birds.
Thus, the population of white-tailed eagles is 14% less than those that have not been exposed to lead for more than a century, while the population of golden eagles and griffon eagles is 13% and 12% smaller, respectively. The decrease in common birds such as golden kites or lagoon harrier is 3%.
The population of the common harrier is 1.5% lower, but since this species is widespread, this small percentage corresponds to 22,000 birds.
The researchers observed a correlation between the density of hunters in a region and the number of raptors poisoned.
And “The fact that lead poisoning raptors were not found in Denmark after the ban on lead ammunition in 1996 indicates that the lead at the root of the problem comes from hunter's ammunition.” Professor Rhys Green, lead author of the study, told AFP.
“The preventable pain and death of many raptors from lead poisoning should be sufficient to require the use of non-toxic alternatives,” said Debbie Pain, co-author of the study.
According to reports, hunting spreads about 14,000 tons of lead per year in the European Union.
A similar study on the impact of lead shots on bald eagles and golden eagles in the United States, published in February in the journal Science, found similar levels of addiction.
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