Evelyn Alexander Wildlife: How Lead Is Destroying Everything

After attending the New York State Wildlife Rehabilitation Conference in November of 2023, three Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center (EAWRC) attendees Grace DeNatale, hospital manager; Adrienne Gillespie, hospital supervisor; and Noelle Dunlop, director of development, were fascinated with a particular presentation that explained the severity of lead poisoning and its prevalence.

“Lead poisoning on Long Island was previously thought to only be common in swans, geese, etc.,” Dunlop says. “This was due to the lead that comes from fishing with lead sinkers, or hunting with illegal lead ammunition.” The sinkers and gunshot residue seep high amounts of lead in the water, which then seeps into the vegetation that grows within or nearby the water. The EAWRC only tested for traces of lead in species that feed off this vegetation, yet the presentation from the conference stated that lead poisoning could be found in any species.

Since then, DeNatale explains that “We now test for lead regardless of the species when we send out their bloodwork.” The EAWRC has since found lead in possums, muskrats, squirrels, groundhogs, crows, hawks, ospreys and more. “All animals can get lead poisoning,” DeNatale says, “It was in waterways, but now it’s in the soil, too, which animals such as groundhogs eat for minerals.” The prevalence of illegal lead bullets leads to large amounts of lead residue in the soil and in runoff. Dunlop adds that “hunters have been leaving dead animals with lead bullets still inside, and when these animals decompose or are consumed by another animal, the lead spreads.” These bullets have been causing huge problems, but, “unfortunately they’re very common and very cheap,” Dunlop adds.

Animals, including hawks, can survive after being shot. The problem with many birds including as hawks and geese is that bullet wounds aren’t visible from the outside, and the EAWRC can’t see where the problem is until they x-ray a bird. They may find 6 lead bullets lodged in an animal, and a bad case of lead poisoning soon after. Dunlop and DeNatale add that hunters should especially avoid using lead bullets if they are eating their game, because they will be likely to get lead poisoning ,too.

Symptoms of lead poisoning present neurologically and result in many symptoms and complications, Dunlop says.

“Dehydration, thinness, confusion, disorientation and brain damage are the most common symptoms, humans and animals alike,” DeNatale says, but many animals have specific symptoms as well. Swans typically develop frayed feathers and scratched beaks. As aggressive creatures, they have a tendency to attack each other; when lead poisoned swans are weakened, they become a target and suffer from discolored, scratched up beaks.

Other animals with lead poisoning appear confused and “get into their own predicaments,” Dunlop explains. “They will look sloppy and be non-aggressive, and get into situations such as falling down or getting stuck that they would not have gotten into if they were right of mind.

“We only put a bandaid on the problem,” Dunlop adds. The EAWRC reports that lead poisoning is difficult to treat, and even when the animal is released, it’s likely to get poisoned again. Lead is stored in blood, and blood is stored in the bone marrow. Even when the animals are treated in the EAWRC, and the kidneys filter out the lead, the rehabilitation will take numerous rounds of treatment because the bone marrow will release more lead until none is left. The treatments persist until all of the lead the animal accumulated in its time is out of the bone marrow and exits the blood.

“It’s the environment that must be changed to help the animals,” DeNatale says. There is no reason to avoid using lead-free fishing sinkers, and while lead bullets are cheap, they are both highly illegal and destroy the environment around them.

“Hunters have a responsibility,” Dunlop says, “They have a responsibility to maintain the environment around them, and lead bullets do the exact opposite.” The use of these lead products affect everything in the environment. Lead is in ponds that are fished out of and soil that people plant in. The EAWRC advises that hunters and fishers stay away from lead sinkers and bullets to help combat the growing abundance of lead on Long Island, and save our animals and environment.

The center is located at 228 West Montauk Highway, Hampton Bays. It can be reached at 631-728-4200, and animal emergencies can be reported at 631-728-WILD (9453). The center is open 9 a.m.–5 p.m. seven days weekly. Visit wildliferescuecenter.org for info.