Recipient Organization
TUFTS UNIVERSITY
200 WESTBORO ROAD
N. GRAFTON,MA 01536
Performing Department
Infectious Disease and Global Health
Non Technical Summary
Public perception widely holds that lead poisoning in the U.S. is no longer a significant threat to the health of animals, the environment and people. Although the elimination of lead from gasoline and some consumer products in the U.S. and several other countries has significantly improved the situation, evidence shows that large numbers of wildlife, domestic animals and people are still killed and incapacitated due to lead toxicosis each year. Our work has demonstrated that ingested lead fishing gear is the #1 cause of mortality in breeding adult common loons. Similar data amply show that lead poisoning threatens California condors, albatrosses, swans, and many other species. Such deaths are often undetected, always unnecessary, and agonizingly slow. It has become apparent that the experts in one area of lead toxicosis (such as childhood poisoning) know little to nothing about efforts being made in other areas (such as farm animals, common loons or California condors). If we are to protect the health and welfare of animals and the environment, it is necessary to find sustainable solutions to the lead issue and take a broad view that is informed by all of the stakeholders and contributors to both the threats and possible solutions. Lead poisoning causes a tremendous amount of pain, suffering and death in large numbers of wild and domestic animals (not to mention people) each year. In an effort to devise new strategies to reduce or eliminate this threat, we plan to develop a book, fact sheets, and web materials aimed at increasing communication among experts and informing the public and policy makers to help them understand the linkages among the health of all species and the threats posed by lead (Pb). Such knowledge, presented in a popular form to attract a broad audience, is an important tool for encouraging the development, marketing and acceptance of non-toxic products and help to build collaborative bridges leading to more effective research and policy.
Animal Health Component
75%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
75%
Developmental
25%
Goals / Objectives
To date no author or organization has attempted to bring together -- in a way that would truly interest the public and policy makers -- information about all the forms of lead that enter our environment and the ways that a wide variety of species (including people) are impacted by lead toxicosis. The goal of this project is to develop a book, fact sheets, and web materials aimed at increasing communication among experts and informing the public and policy makers to help them understand the linkages among the health of all species and the threats posed by lead (Pb). As an educational organization established in conservation medicine, we are well positioned to present objective data and information to an audience that includes wildlife professionals, policy makers, the general public, and animal welfare and conservation groups. The book and web-based materials will represent the culmination of many years of studying lead poisoning in common loons and other wildlife and are intended to educate popular audiences and galvanize people to take action. Although there are many books and articles written about lead, they tend to fall into one of several relatively narrow categories: 1. technical toxicologic or environmental; 2. public health publications (occupational health, pediatric health, gasoline, lead paint). 3. popular books on specific wildlife issues, especially those involving charismatic species like eagles or condors. A great many of the small pieces of lead that poison animals originate from hunting and fishing activities. Despite convincing scientific evidence going back over 100 years, there has been a huge management challenge in encouraging manufacturers to develop non-toxic alternative products, getting sportsmen to adopt these alternatives and convincing policy makers of the need to take action on this toxic threat. The passage of legislation to ban the use of lead shot for hunting waterfowl was a good step, but it took over 30 years of divisive political battles and has only gone a small way to solving the problem. Lead shot is still used for hunting upland game species, for skeet shooting and a variety of other activities. Animals are still dying in large numbers from ingesting lead shot, fishing gear and bullet fragments. The immediate goal of this project is to educate a broad audience, to encourage interdisciplinary collaborations and to educate sportsmen (and their families) about the magnitude of the problem and the active role that they can take in protecting human and animal health by developing and using non-toxic alternatives. The longer term goal is to encourage the development of national (and international) policies to further limit the introduction of this toxic element into the environment. We very much hope that our efforts in crossing disciplinary boundaries will help to forge new collaborative links among groups that have not previously worked together to find innovative solutions to an environmental health issue that leads to the painful and unnecessary deaths of many thousands of animals each year.
Project Methods
We have been working on the issue of lead poisoning in wildlife for many years, have been involved in legislative efforts in several states, and have published and presented widely. Currently we are working with the Peregrine Fund and others to organize the first international conference to address the effects of lead on the health of both wildlife and people (www.tufts.edu/vet/lead/). In achieving the goals of the present project, we will have the cooperation and participation of national authorities in human health (at Tufts University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, CDC, and other organizations), birds of prey (including the Peregrine Fund and the Raptor Center of the Univ. of Minnesota), aquatic birds (including the National Wildlife Health Center of USGS), and several manufacturers of hunting and fishing gear. In many ways this book and website will represent the first conservation medicine approach to a common pathological condition that is worldwide in scope.