Millions of birds die from toxic lead poisoning

Today, I spent the entire day studying the impact of lead shot on bird populations worldwide. It's truly alarming. Mass extinctions, with many populations collapsing specifically due to lead. To clarify: hunters gather in droves to "shoot for sport" at birds, lead shot scatters in all directions, partially hitting live birds, which manage to fly away. Then a chain reaction begins, and both the birds and those that eat them die. And they die in the most excruciating pain: the lead dissolves in the stomach, begins to absorb into the body, travels through the bloodstream, and spreads to the organs.

And?

Who is talking about this?

Where are the federal programs and urgent measures to prevent this problem?

None of this exists, only an increase in the scale of "sport shooting for fun" against those who still dare to fight for Life.

The material is already published, simplified, but I feel even so, it turned out to be difficult and heavy for people. I try to simplify as much as possible each time, otherwise, no one reads it, but lately, I don't understand how to fit into a brief description without at least minimally addressing the problem.

For our headquarters, I am publishing the scientific studies I have examined. I spent the whole day on this work, and I'm exhausted. But the topic definitely requires study. I generally think that if there were independent funding, we would have long since started conducting our own research, compiling everything into unified databases, registries, and pushing for change. As it stands, for example, in Russia, there are currently no studies—just an expansion of "sport shooting" without regard for the consequences.

"Risk assessment of lead ammunition and fishing tackle for wild birds" — European Chemicals Agency, 2026.https://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/a54dae65-bba3-44ef-54e4-89252821d65f
"Lead in shot, bullets, and fishing weights" — European Chemicals Agency, official analytical material.https://echa.europa.eu/hot-topics/lead-in-shot-bullets-and-fishing-weights
"Demographic consequences of lead poisoning for North American eagles" — 2022.https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abj3068
"Annual report on the status of the California condor population for 2025" — 2026.https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2026-02/2025-california-condor-population-status_508-compliant.pdf
"The growing threat of lead: mortality trends of California condors" — 2026.https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.70100
"Impact of lead fishing tackle on eider populations" — 2017.https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.21348
"Ingestion of lead shot and lead levels in wild duck tissues in heavily hunted areas of Argentina" — 2014.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2013.10.015
"Review of lead contamination in birds in South America: the need for further research and changes in conservation policy" — 2018.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2530064417302067
"Lead shot in the stomachs of waterfowl in Yakutia" — A. G. Degtyarev, 1991, reissue 2010.https://ornis.su/downloads/category/18-2010.html?download=638:2010-615&start=60
"Ecological and physiological consequences of lead shot pollution in wetlands" — V. M. Kiryakulov, conference materials 2024.https://ibpc.ysn.ru/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Сборник-конф.-24.pdf
"Economic assessment of wild bird mortality from the use of lead shot in European wetlands" — 2018.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.06.085
"Impact of lead from ammunition on birds and other wildlife: a review and update of scientific data" — 2019.https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01159-0