European raptors, poisoned by the lead of pellets (study)

The population of birds of prey in Europe is about 55,000 less than it should be due to contamination of their feed by lead contained in hunters' ammunition, according to a study published on Wednesday.

Led by researchers at the University of Cambridge, this study is presented as the first to calculate the impact of this poisoning throughout Europe.

The scientists analyzed data collected since the 1970s on the concentration of lead in the livers of 3,000 raptors of 22 species found dead or dying in 13 European countries (United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland and Greece).

Researchers estimate that, in the case of ten of these species, contamination of their prey by lead from ammunition represents a reduction of 55,000 adult birds in the European sky compared to the number that would occur if this did not happen.

The models indicate that its population is 6% smaller than it would be without the effects of this poisoning, which causes a “slow and painful” death to the affected birds.

Thus, the population of white-tailed eagles is 14% smaller than it would be without more than a century of exposure to lead, and those of golden eagles and griffon vultures are 13% and 12% smaller respectively. The reduction is 3% in common birds such as the golden kite or the lagoon harrier.

The population of common harriers is 1.5% lower, but this small percentage corresponds to 22,000 birds, since this species is widespread.

The researchers observed a correlation between the density of hunters in an area and the number of poisoned raptors.

And “the fact that no lead-poisoned raptors were found in Denmark after the country banned lead ammunition in 1996 indicates that the lead at the root of the problem comes from hunters' ammunition,” Professor Rhys Green, lead author of the study, told AFP.

“The preventable suffering and deaths of many raptors from lead poisoning should be enough to demand the use of non-toxic alternatives,” said Debbie Pain, co-author of the study, stressing the urgency of action.

According to the report, hunting spreads about 14,000 tons of lead per year in the European Union.

A similar study on the impact of lead shot on bald and golden eagles in the United States, published in the journal Science in February, found similarly high levels of poisoning.

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