Toxicity down under
environmentalists are targeting duck shooters and anglers in New Zealand. They say that heavy loads of lead are contaminating some New Zealand lake beds and wetlands. The Forest and Bird Protection Society has launched a campaign to end the use of lead in shotgun ammunition. The society has written to the minister of conservation and minister for the environment asking for action on the issue. To avoid further problems, environmentalists have suggested substitution of steel shot or shot made from bismuth, for the lead.
Kevin Smith, director of the society, has warned that New Zealand is lagging behind at a time when the world is moving towards the use of non-toxic shot. "Lead shot is no longer used for waterfowl shooting in Canada or the us , because of its harmful environmental effects," Smith said.
While New Zealand has removed lead in petrol and paint, we keep blasting it into sensitive natural wetlands and lakes. Lead pellet densities of 3,87,500 per hectare had been recorded in one Otago wetland. Waterfowl that eat shotgun pellets, mistaking them for food or grit, could die of lead poisoning.
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