Hi,
Many of you have e-mailed to inquire about the trumpeter swans in
Whatcom County and just over the border in Canada that are dying from lead
poisoning.
The number of dead swans retrieved is not about 75 with several more
birds still in the field sick (they are being monitored until they are able
to be caught). We want to get the dead birds out of the field so they are
not eaten by eagles or other predators and then those animals get lead
poisoning too.
The Trumpeter Swan Society is working with the agencies on both sides of
the border to assist in finding where the birds are picking up the lead.
This is a complex problem due to the large geographical area used by swans.
Lead shot is banned on both sides of the border only for waterfowl
hunting. It is still used for upland bird hunting and trap shooting, both
of which occur in the area where the swans are dying.
It appears that most of the 100 trumpeters that died last year from lead
poisoning in the same area, died from hunt size shot vs. trap shot loads.
A few facts: It takes only 3-4 ingested shot pellets to kill a trumpeter
swan. Some of these birds have in excess of 30-40 pellets in their
gizzards. By the time we are able to catch a swan that is ill from lead
poisoning, it is too late to try and save them. The severe damage to the
nervous system and other organs is not reversible.


Martha Jordan
marthaj at premier1.net
www.swansociety.org