Bald Eagles Are Still Dying From Lead Poisoning

The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey from North America, and is especially known as the national symbol of the United States of America. It inhabits Canada, Alaska, the United States and northern Mexico. Although they are formally endangered, the latest data shows the opposite.

An increasing number of individuals of this magnificent bird species have been poisoned by lead. Bald eagles often feed on the corpses of animals killed by hunters. The interior of these corpses is usually inundated with fragments of lead bullets. It takes a few days for the poisoning to take a swing. Symptoms of eagles include inability to get up, spasm, shake of the head, difficulty breathing, gastrointestinal problems, as lead paralyzes their bowels, and dehydration, according to Betsy Finch, a spokeswoman for a bird shelter in the US.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama signed a ban on the use of lead bullets on the last day of his term, which many hunting fans have opposed, because such bullets are harder and cheaper, and the current president, Donald Trump, repealed the Obama provision.