Eagles Dying of Lead Poisoning In the USA

Every country has environmental issues. Some put in place enforceable regulations, others attempt to put in regulations. I am sure that many have a’leader’ who don’t know what the right hand is doing. Such as the case with our president Trump.

The latest viral news is that Eagles are dying of lead poisoning.  Millions of birds across the United States, including bald eagles are poisoned by lead every year, according to the American Bird Conservancy. The Cape Fear Raptor Center, who has treated seven eagles in the past month for lead poisoning, executive director Dr. Joni Shimp told CNN.

Bald Eagles are a protected species and one animal that Trump has cited in his Windmill Rants. He has decried and blasted windmills for killing Bald Eagles “A windmill will kill many bald eagles,” Trump added. “After a certain number, they make you turn the windmill off, that is true. By the way, they make you turn it off. And yet, if you killed one, they put you in jail. That is OK. But why is it OK for windmills to destroy the bird population?”

He is right Wind Turbines (not windmills) do kill birds. But so do other things. The only reason he states this is to continue to promote fossil fuels.

• 500,000 Birds are killed by Wind Turbines: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• 599 Million Birds are killed by Glass windows. 2015 study published in the Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics.
• 200 Million Birds are killed by cars.
• 500,000 to 1 Million Birds are killed in oil fields. Bureau of Land Management

This is the pot calling the kettle black. If he is so worried about Bald Eagles and birds why did he allow:

• Secretary Ryan Zinke to reverse a ban on lead bullets immediately after he took office. The ban was put in place to phase out the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle over the next five years on more than 150 million acres of National Wildlife Refuges and other agency lands and waterways. Zinke is a big hunter of any type of wildlife. A conflict of interest.
• Allowing Arctic Drilling will kill off many birds in one of the worlds largest bird refuges? More than 200 Species of Birds nest there. (Audubon)
• Allowing Fracking which also kills.
• Why did he gut the Clean Water Act which also kills humans and animals?
• Why did he gut the Clean Air Act which also kills birds?
• Why did the federal government stop prosecuting companies that accidentally kill species protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

There is no doubt that any type of energy going to kill wildlife. The below numbers are an estimate from different types of monitoring and from 2014.

Way back in 2013, a group of scientists collectively released a statement warning that lead bullets could have unknown consequence. Lead ammunition currently amounts to the second most used source of lead in the U.S.

Bottom line, it is very sad especially when bird populations are decreasing at alarming rates. It is sad that a human would not feed their children lead, but think it is OK to have other animals feed on lead.  The saddest is that our president who fancies himself as a scientist makes untrue claims just to ‘feather’ his nest.

Resources

Top 10 Myths About Wind Turbines 

Wind Farms are hardly the Bird Slayers 

2019: Bald Eagle Dies of Lead Poisoning 

Birds Killed by Deep Horizon Oil. Spill 

Oil Spills are Even Worse For Birds than thought 

Silent Skies: Billions of North American Birds Have Vanished 

In the Battle With Lead Ammunition Science Collides With Culture 

Effects of lead from ammunition on birds and other wildlife: A review and update