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The Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) has worked diligently over the years to locate the source responsible for the ongoing mass-mortalities and remove the threat. Since conclusively determining that Judson Lake is the primary source of the die-offs, CWS has been on record supporting a long-term restoration plan for the lake. Now they need our help.
The sober reality is Judson Lake is an extreme example of a far too common problem in our country; lead poisoning deaths of wildlife from ingestion of spent lead shot. While Judson Lake poignantly illustrates the difficulty of removing this toxic waste product once it has been deposited into the environment, to this day, tonnes of lead shot are being blasted onto our fields, woodlands, streams and waterways near shooting ranges and upland hunting areas. Lead shot for waterfowl hunting has been banned in Canada since 1997, but it remains legal for upland game hunting and target shooting.
In direct contrast, cost effective lead-free ammunition is widely available in the Canadian market that is as effective if not better than lead. Absolutely all conceivable excuses to continue using toxic lead shot products for hunting and shooting activity in our country have long since been addressed and remedied.
The Canadian Wildlife Service estimate an average of 240,000-360,000 individual waterfowl die of lead poisoning in Canada annually from lead shot ingestion (A review of the environmental impacts of lead shotshell ammunition and lead fishing weights in Canada, Occasional Paper Number 88 Canadian Wildlife Service, 1995).
In the absence of any additional restrictions, use of lead ammunition is expected to increase over the next decade and the level of lead released into the environment is expected to increase from approximately 5,000 tonnes (2016) to 5,800 tonnes by 2025 (Lead ammunition: executive summary, Government of Canada).
Please join us and sign this important nationwide petition e-3459, adopted by M.P. Ed Fast, to stop lead shot from being deposited into the Canadian environment by the tonne annually.
There is no age requirement to sign the petition. Together we can end needless wildlife deaths, and secure a safer future for all of us!
Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) quick facts:
Virtual Elimination is the reduction to the environment of the most dangerous toxic substances to a level below which these releases cannot be accurately measured.
By placing lead shot on the Virtual Elimination List, our parliamentarians would be effectively banning the import, manufacture and sale of this toxic product nationwide, thus protecting the environment and our health from future catastrophes. It's long overdue!