The California Department of Fish and Game has been investigating waterfowl lead poisoning in California for the past three years. The availability of spent lead shot has been determined by collecting 661 sample plots from 18 waterfowl areas in California. To determine levels of ingested lead shot, gizzards were taken and examined from trapped, hunter and disease killed waterfowl. Of 14,768 gizzards examined, 982 (6.65%) contained one or more ingested lead pellets. Wingbones and tissue chemically analyzed for lead content have been little help in determining the actual effect of lead accumulation within the body. Raptors fed lead pellets to simulate acquiring spent shot from their prey were found to suffer no noticeable detrimental effects. During the three years of this study approximately 3,000 waterfowl have been necropsied. One hundred forty-five were diagnosed as lead poisoning.
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