Dangerous metals

[Diablo]

morganf said:

Lead doesn't affect animals the way it affects humans. Human's are affected by just being near lead contamination... For birds, it is a digestive poison, they could have lead shards embedded in their wings, healed over and it won't cause problems, but the second they eat it, they are poisoned.

Humans are animals, Morgan. It affects us the same. If it enters the bloodstream, it causes problems. We can tolerate it more as people because of our size. It takes a lot less to affect a raptor. Lead paint has been a huge problem with people because of the dust from old flaking paint entering our lungs. A bird can have it embedded in their wings and they will still die, it will just take longer than if they simply ingested it.

[kitana8]

diablo said:

A bird can have it embedded in their wings and they will still die, it will just take longer than if they simply ingested it.

Sorry but no. Lead shots can stay in the muscle tissue for the entire life of the animal without causing any problems. It's the digestion process that oxydates lead and allows it to enter bloodstream that makes it toxic, not its mere presence in tissues. You would be surprised at how many BoP carry a shot, or more commonly how many dogs or cats do! I have at least 4-5 Xrays each month that show lead shots embedded in muscular tissues in pet dogs and cats that I radiograph for an entirely different reason.

[alex2]

Apparently Morgan was right,


I guess sometimes he does know what in the hell he was talking about

[Diablo]

alex2 said:

Apparently Morgan was right,


I guess sometimes he does know what in the hell he was talking about

Just because someone agrees with him, doesn't make either of them right........ Lead can enter the blood stream from being embedded in the tissue. Lead can enter through the pores of your skin. Blood flows through your muscles and tissues, it stands to reason that it can enter the blood stream that way. It may not be as common as being ingested, but it is possible, and has happened.

[ehh]

In any case perching a hawk on lead contaminated soil will poison it. It gets into the hawk's mouth from picking at its talons and from preening the dirt from its feathers.

[Master Yarak]

It really does not matter how lead enters the blood stream.
I have had to euthanize way too many raptors with lead poisoning. From Kestrels and Screech owls to Bald eagles and everything in between. Mostly from lead pellets.
Yarak