Dead swans laid out for necropsy. Photo by M. Jordan.

SWANS DYING OF LEAD POISONING IN WASHINGTON STATE AND BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

After 6 deadly winters, no one yet knows where the swans are getting the lead shot that is killing so many of them! TTSS has been working hard to assist Canadian and U. S. wildlife agencies with research to find the source of lead shot, so that it can be cleaned up.

THE PROBLEM

Trumpeter Swans began dying in large numbers from lead poisoning in North Whatcom County, Washington, and over the border in Sumas Valley, British Columbia, in late December 1999. The crisis continued this winter. A similar, but much smaller scale die-off occurred in 1992 in this same area. It is unclear why 8 years passed before this poisoning reoccurred or why the problem has become so much more severe in recent winters.

As of late April 2005, the total count of documented mortality since 1999 is around 1,900 swans, with about 97% Trumpeter Swans and some Tundra Swans. Most of the birds have been picked up dead or dying on the ponds they use for night roosts on the U. S. side and, to a lesser extent, in Canada. There is no way to estimate the number of additional dead birds that have escaped detection in the wintering grounds or that may have died as they tried to migrate north in the spring.

The die-off has now happened for 6 years in a row in the same geographical area. This past winter (2004-05) about 400 dead Trumpeters were picked up, similar to winter 2003-04, and considerably more than in previous winters. The Canadian Wildlife Service, The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, nonprofit organizations, and concerned citizens are working together to identify where the swans are picking up the lead shot. TTSS is helping to support the work by fundraising, recruiting volunteers, providing equipment, and coordinating the massive effort in late spring to necropsy the dead swans so that the characteristics of the lead can be determined.

This winter one of our members from Montana, along with his wife, came to Washington in his camper and spent 6 weeks as a volunteer assisting with the effort to locate the lead source by radio-tracking swans to their feeding areas.

HOW DO SWANS GET THE LEAD SHOT?

Each time a shotgun is fired, many pellets fall to the ground where they remain available to feeding birds. Although lead is no longer legal for waterfowl hunting, the lead pellets can remain available for many years.

The swans pick up the lead shot in areas where they are feeding or seeking grit, in wetlands or in agricultural fields. They swallow the pellets, thinking they are grit (small stones) which they need to aid in the grinding of food in their gizzards. Lead shot pellets are the same general size of the grit they prefer. Ducks, geese, and many other speicies of birds are known to ingest lead shot while searching for grit.

WHAT IS LEAD POISONING?

There are two types of lead poisoning - primary and secondary. Primary lead poisoning occurs with the direct ingestion of lead shot either as food or while searching for grit (small stones) for digestion. This is how swans and other waterfowl obtain lead shot. Many eagles and other predatory or scavenging birds also suffer primary lead poisoning by consuming lead shot and bullets embedded in tissues of game animals killed or wounded with lead ammunition. Secondary lead poisoning occurs when predators such as eagles or other raptors eat the contaminated tissues of birds that have died from lead poisoning.

Lead shot ingestion can also result in elevated blood levels, but not result in death on the wintering grounds. The elevated lead levels can have a negative effect on the ability of the birds to survive migration or reproduce successfully. Research last winter showed that approximately 30% of our Trumpeter Swans in this area have elevated lead levels.

Depending on what a swan eats for food, it takes as few as 3 to 4 pellets to cause lead poisoning. Over 300 of the dead swans that were examined in recent winters contained more than 30 pellets in their gizzards. Over 50 swans contained more than 100 lead pellets.

Lead poisoning results when the food is ground against the grit and lead shot in the gizzard during digestion. Lead is a soft metal and gets ground down easily and then is taken into the blood stream causing the symptoms of lead poisoning. Classic signs of lead poisoning in swans are severe weight loss, green staining around the vent area, and general weakness with an inability to hold up the wings. The swan usually dies of starvation because it can no longer digest food. Sometimes this process is slow and the birds can survive. Other times, if they eat corn for example, the grain is hard and the lead is ground down more quickly, thus resulting in a high release of lead into the system and the swans die.

Swans spend their winter days feeding in agricultural fields or adjacent wetlands and then go to night roosts, typically a lake or slough. Swans fly into the night roosts, and, if they feel ill, they do not leave the roost the next day. The birds get weaker and often die at the roost site, even though they may have picked up the lead miles away.

LEAD SHOT & BULLETS - GET THE FACTS

Problems with the use of lead shot were discovered by extensive testing during the 1970s and 1980s. This resulted in a phasing out of lead shot as an allowable waterfowl load from 1986 to 1991. However, in many areas the use of lead remains legal for most other forms of hunting and shooting activities. All lead ammunition is toxic to wildlife and the environment. This includes lead shot (including trap or skeet shot) and bullets. The use of lead ammunition is one of the most significant sources of lead deposition into the environment as other sources of lead from industry, paints, and gasoline continue to decrease. As an example, a national ban of lead shot in Canada will reduce the amount of lead released into the environment by more than 800 tons annually and in the U. S. the amount of reduction would be much more. Lead deposited on our lands can leach into the soil and water. Also, lead deposited directly into waterways from hunting or trap shooting may further contaminate soils downstream as erosion occurs from water flows. The replacement of toxic lead shot by NON-TOXIC AMMUNITION will help to conserve the health of our bird populations and their habitats for everyone to enjoy.

NON-TOXIC AMMUNITION - WHAT IS IT?

The ammunition made from other metals or combination of metals has been shown to have minimal to no toxicity on wildlife. There is on-going research to find better ammunition that will work as well as lead and be benign to the environment and wildlife. Several non-toxic alternatives have been developed and approved for use, including

Bismuth shot

Tungsten-matrix shot

Steel shot

Tungsten-iron shot

Tin shot

Tungsten-polymer shot

At this time, these alternatives are currently more expensive than lead, although the cost is coming down and the difference in price for some shot is nominal.

The cost to work with lead poisoned wildlife and the deaths of non-target species including swans, raptors, and others is substantial. It is time for the public to stop allowing hunting with lead at the cost of our environmental health and wildlife resources.

YOU CAN HELP! If you choose to hunt, please use non-toxic ammunition. Tell the store why you are buying non-toxic shot and urge them to promote its use. If you allow hunters to use your land, require them to use non-toxic shot only on your property. Post your land proudly “This is a lead-free hunting area!” You can help prevent future poisoning and help educate the public at the same time.

The Trumpeter Swan Society is working on a campaign to "Get The Lead Out!" through education of the public and hunters about the lead shot issues and to gain support to encourage all lead shot users to voluntarily switch to non-toxic shot. Voluntarily switching to non-toxic shot is something we all can do - without wasting one more day - to help reduce the needless deaths of swans and other wildlife.

ALSO, join the Adopt A Swan program to help monitor wintering swans and to help fund radio transmitters, research, and monitoring equipment, and data collection so that the source of lead that is killing so many swans can be found and removed.

CURRENT REGULATIONS

Non-toxic shot has been required for all waterfowl hunting in the United States since 1991 and in Canada since 1999.

Regulations vary from state to state and province to province relating to lead shot use for other forms of hunting. Please check with your local wildlife agency for current regulations. Remember, even where lead is legal, you can help end the poisoning by voluntarily choosing to use non-toxic shot.

• In Washington State: Non-toxic shot is required for all waterfowl hunting.
• For upland birds, lead shot is still legal in all areas except Skagit County and 10 Dept. of Fish and Wildlife owned lands where pheasants are released. This is only a small portion of the pheasant release sites and a small portion of areas hunted for upland game. Despite its toxicity, lead is still legally used in many of these areas, even areas subsequently used by feeding waterfowl.

NON-HUNTING ACTIVITIES: There are no regulations on ammunition type used for non-hunting activities such as trap or skeet shooting, bird dog training or target practice. Lead is often used in these activities, even in areas where waterfowl subsequently feed!

Each state has different rules for the use of lead and nontoxic shot. Please contact your local wildlife agency for details in your area.

MORE INFORMATION ON LEAD SHOT, BULLETS, and FISHING SINKERS

The Trumpeter Swan Society is working on a campaign to "Get The Lead Out!" through education of the public and hunters about the lead shot issues and to gain support to encourage all lead shot users to voluntarily switch to non-toxic shot. Voluntarily switching to non-toxic shot is something we all can do - without wasting one more day - to help reduce the needless deaths of swans and other wildlife. If you are a private landowner who allows hunting on your land, you can help by educating and requiring hunters who use your property to only use non-toxic shot for all shooting activites.

For more information on lead shot and lead poisoning in wildlife the Canadian Wildlife Services website and review Occasional Paper 88 on lead shot and fishing sinkers, and also Occasional Paper 108 on fishing sinkers.

Also, visit Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's site by clicking on WDFW website . For good background information, there is a link to a fact sheet on lead shot.

See what the State of Minnesota is doing to educate the public about the dangers of lead fishing tackle to swans, loons, and eagles. Click here to learn about their Let's Get the Lead Out! campaign.