Metal deposition of copper and lead bullets in moose harvested in Fennoscandia

Stokke, Sigbjørn; Brainerd, Scott M.; Arnemo, Jon M.

doi:10.1002/wsb.731

Cited by 36 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 34 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Lead-based bullets are widely used for shooting, primarily because of the ballistic qualities of Pb, including very high density, softness (malleability) and low tensile strength (ductility). Lead is also cost-effective, widely available, easily extracted from ore and has the capacity for producing efficient killing (Thomas 2013;Stokke et al 2017), which is important for favourable animal-welfare outcomes (Hampton et al 2016a). Lead-based bullets used to shoot terrestrial mammal species are almost universally of a design referred to as 'expanding' bullets (Pauli and Buskirk 2007;Caudell et al 2012;Caudell 2013).…”

Section: Wound Ballistics Of Pb-based Bulletsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On striking animal tissues, the very high density of Pb allows expanding bullets to penetrate and then deform (expand and fragment; Fig. 1; Stokke et al 2017). Owing to the softness of Pb and the high velocities achieved by modern centrefire bullets (Hampton et al 2016a), expanding Pb-based bullets often fragment on impact into hundreds of small pieces (Hunt et al 2006(Hunt et al , 2009Grund et al 2010;Kneubuehl 2011;Stewart and Veverka 2011;McTee et al 2017).…”

Section: Wound Ballistics Of Pb-based Bulletsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The intention behind bullet fragmentation is debated, with many bullet types apparently designed not to fragment (Cruz-Martinez et al 2015); hence, higher-quality bullets are often 'bonded' (i.e. the Pb core is attached to the bullet jacket (often copper, Cu) in an attempt to avoid fragmentation; Stokke et al 2017). Regardless of the intentions of manufacturers, Pb fragments have been shown to be present in the meat, carcasses and offal of a multitude of animal species shot with expanding Pb-based bullets (Hunt et al 2006;Pauli and Buskirk 2007;Dobrowolska and Melosik 2008;Hunt et al 2009;Iqbal et al 2009;Kosnett 2009;Knott et al 2010;Grund et al 2010;Morales et al 2011;Lindboe et al 2012;Cruz-Martinez et al 2015;Herring et al 2016;McTee et al 2017;Stokke et al 2017).…”

Section: Pb Fragments In the Tissues Of Shot Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pattee et al (1981) examined five bald eagles and found that feeding 2000 mg of Pb produced consistent lethal effects, with eagles dying after appearing to have absorbed as little as 20 mg of Pb. Australia's largest raptor, the wedge-tailed eagle, weighs~3 kg (Menkhorst et al 2017) similar to bald eagles, so lethal Pb doses for this species are likely to bẽ 2000 mg per bird (Pattee et al 1981;Stokke et al 2017) as a maximum estimate, and less for all other Australian scavenging birds. Given that the mass of Pb-bullet fragments is in the range of 25 mg each (Pauli and Buskirk 2007), a lethal dose of 2000 mg is likely to constitute~80 fragments.…”

Section: Scavenging Birdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The total amount of Pb potentially affecting wildlife can, thus, be roughly calculated as the weight of the Pb lost from a typical bullet in fragments (and, thus, available to scavenging wildlife), multiplied by the number of bullets fired into each animal, multiplied by the number of animals shot. We used the calculations of Stokke et al (2017) to estimate the average amount of Pb lost to fragmentation per bullet. Stokke et al (2017) calculated an average Pb loss of 24% from 0.308-calibre bullets used for moose (Alces alces) hunting.…”

Section: Case Study Of Pb Contamination: Feral-camel Helicopter Shootingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Heads in the sand: public health and ecological risks of lead-based bullets for wildlife shooting in Australia

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Lead (Pb) is a toxic element banned from fuel, paint and many other products in most developed countries. Nonetheless, it is still widely used in ammunition, including rifle bullets, and Pb-based bullets are almost universally used in Australia. For decades, poisoning from Pb shot (shotguns) has been recognised as a cause of disease in waterfowl and Pb shot has been subsequently banned for waterfowl hunting in many jurisdictions. However, the risks posed by Pb-based bullets (rifles) have not been similarly recognised in Australia. Pb-based rifle bullets frequently fragment, contaminating the tissue of shot animals. Consuming this Pb-contaminated tissue risks harmful Pb exposure and, thus, the health of wildlife scavengers (carrion eaters) and humans and their companion animals who consume harvested meat (game eaters). In Europe, North America and elsewhere, the environmental and human health risks of Pb-based bullets are widely recognised, and non-toxic alternatives (e.g. copper-based bullets) are increasingly being used. However, Australia has no comparable research despite widespread use of shooting, common scavenging by potentially susceptible wildlife species, and people regularly consuming shot meat. We conclude that Australia has its collective 'head in the sand' on this pressing worldwide One Health issue. We present the need for urgent research into this field in Australia.

show abstract

Section: Wound Ballistics Of Pb-based Bulletsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Wound Ballistics Of Pb-based Bulletsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Pb Fragments In the Tissues Of Shot Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Scavenging Birdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Case Study Of Pb Contamination: Feral-camel Helicopter Shootingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Heads in the sand: public health and ecological risks of lead-based bullets for wildlife shooting in Australia

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Landscape of fear or landscape of food? Moose hunting triggers an antipredator response in brown bears

Brown

Zedrosser

Arnemo

et al. 2023

Ecological Applications

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hunters can affect the behavior of wildlife by inducing a landscape of fear, selecting individuals with specific traits, or altering resource availability across the landscape. Most research investigating the influence of hunting on wildlife resource selection has focused on target species and less attention has been devoted to nontarget species, such as scavengers that can be both attracted or repelled by hunting activities. We used resource selection functions to identify areas where hunters were most likely to kill moose (Alces alces) in southcentral Sweden during the fall. Then, we used step-selection functions to determine whether female brown bears (Ursus arctos) selected or avoided these areas and specific resources during the moose hunting season. We found that, during both day and nighttime, female brown bears avoided areas where hunters were more likely to kill moose. We found evidence that resource selection by brown bears varied substantially during the fall and that some behavioral changes were consistent with disturbance associated with moose hunters.Brown bears were more likely to select concealed locations in young (i.e., regenerating) and coniferous forests and areas further away from roads during the moose hunting season. Our results suggest that brown bears react to both spatial and temporal variations in apparent risk during the fall: moose hunters create a landscape of fear and trigger an antipredator response in a large carnivore even if bears are not specifically targeted during the moose hunting season. Such antipredator responses might lead to indirect habitat loss and lower foraging efficiency and the resulting consequences should be considered when planning hunting seasons.

show abstract

Ammunition Type and Shot Placement Determine Lead Fragmentation in Deer

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Lead remnants from spent ammunition introduce health risks to humans and wildlife that consume game harvested with firearms. Most current research has focused on effects of high‐velocity rifle bullets, whereas low‐velocity lead ammunition has received little attention. We examined whether fragmentation characteristics differed between 3 common low‐velocity ammunition types when shot into the thoracic cavity or shoulder of white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) culled in Indiana, USA, from May–September of 2009. We shot and subsequently radiographed 43 deer to determine the number of fragments, fragment size, and distance traveled by individual fragments. We also radiographed deer post‐evisceration to determine the proportion of fragments available to humans and wildlife scavengers for consumption in muscle and visceral tissue, respectively. All radiographed deer had evidence of fragmentation, with a geometric mean of 13.1 (95% CI = 10.3, 16.8) fragments/deer. Most fragments (89%) were <5 mm from wound channels, and no fragment traveled beyond 205 mm from a wound channel. Fragments were often retained within the muscle tissue of deer with a geometric mean rate of 0.55 (95% CI = 0.48, 0.65). Muzzleloader bullet fragments were larger than those generated by rifled and sabot slugs, and sabot slug fragments had the shortest dispersal from wound channels. Shoulder‐shot placement and bone contact for all ammunition resulted in a greater number of fragments (P < 0.01). Shoulder‐shots also generated more small fragments and higher fragment retention in muscle tissue. The overall mean number of lead fragments detected across our ammunition treatments was less than previous studies. Our results indicate ammunition type and shot placement may be considerations for hunters wishing to limit their potential exposure to lead from harvested big game. Additionally, when compared to high‐velocity rifle bullets, significantly fewer lead fragments are made available to humans and wildlife that consume game harvested with low‐velocity ammunition types, such as those tested here. Complete elimination of lead ingestion by humans and wildlife, however, is only possible by using non‐toxic ammunition alternatives. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.

show abstract

Metal deposition of copper and lead bullets in moose harvested in Fennoscandia

Cited by 36 publications

References 34 publications

Heads in the sand: public health and ecological risks of lead-based bullets for wildlife shooting in Australia

Heads in the sand: public health and ecological risks of lead-based bullets for wildlife shooting in Australia

Landscape of fear or landscape of food? Moose hunting triggers an antipredator response in brown bears

Ammunition Type and Shot Placement Determine Lead Fragmentation in Deer

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About