Hunters, you are poisoning our wildlife with your buckshot. It would be great to see the hunting community take a more active role in education of their people to stop this destruction of the wildlife in our area. The duck hunting community has been a model for decades in preserving habitat, but it appears that a new educational campaign is needed. This is not just in the Skagit Valley, but has been a problem around all target practice sites in both Jefferson and Clallam counties.
At the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center on Friday, Dec. 11, Alysha Elsby held open the beak of a female trumpeter swan as Sarah Trudeau pushed a thin tube down the bird’s long throat so they could feed her…. The trumpeter swan was among 10 brought from Skagit and Whatcom counties into the center, which is part of the Whatcom Humane Society, in the past week. Eight were suffering from the effects of lead poisoning after ingesting lead shot, one from head trauma after possibly being hit by a vehicle, and one from lead poisoning and head trauma. Kie Relyea reports. (Bellingham Herald)
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article49701740.html