Skegemog urges hunters to go lead-free as firearm deer season approaches

GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) — Nov. 15 marks the first day of Michigan’s firearm deer season, a season that the Skegemog Raptor Center in Traverse City says poses a serious threat to bald eagles.

Last year, center staff said they treated 15 to 20 bald eagles that had lead poisoning due to ingesting lead ammunition during deer season.

Lead ammunition is typically ingested when bald eagles scavenge deer remains like gut piles and unrecovered deer left behind in fields after hunting.

“It can cause a number of different things,” said James Manley, executive director of Skegemog. “It starts attacking the red blood cells; it can affect their GI function. So sometimes we have birds that come in and they can’t even hold a liquid diet. And even though we’re giving them meds to help with GI movement. It can affect their kidneys and their liver.”

The Skegemog Raptor Center suggests switching to non-lead ammunition and burying deer gut piles to help protect bald eagles.

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