Every year, 21’000 tonnes of lead ammunition end up in the wild in South Tyrol.
These cause lead poisoning. The animals most affected are birds, including bearded vultures and golden eagles. Situated in the heart of the Alps, South Tyrol is one of the regions most severely affected by this scourge. However, non-toxic alternatives exist, which are already mandatory in the Stelvio National Park. The Greens are calling for a ban on lead ammunition throughout South Tyrol.
1.3 million animals die from lead poisoning every year
This type of ammunition kills not only when prey is hit by a bullet during hobby hunting, but also when carcasses shot with lead are consumed by other wild animals, which then succumb to fatal lead poisoning. In Europe, an estimated 1.3 million animals fall victim to lead poisoning caused by recreational hunters every year, primarily birds of prey.
«Quadrangle of Death» in the Alps
The first alarm signals came in 2008, when one of the reintroduced bearded vultures in Stelvio National Park — whose release in the Martell Valley had been celebrated with a grand ceremony — was found dead in Switzerland four months later. Subsequent investigations by ornithologist Enrico Bassi, scientific director of golden eagle and bearded vulture monitoring in Stelvio National Park, revealed that the majority of contaminated birds of prey in the Alps are found in the so-called «Quadrangle of Death», between the provinces of Trento, Bolzano, Brescia and Sondrio. This «quadrangle», together with Austria, is the area most severely affected by lead poisoning in Europe. «What is the point of reintroducing bearded vultures if they die after just a few years because they were poisoned by the very humans who brought them back to their natural habitat?», asks first signatory Riccardo Dello Sbarba.
Because alternatives exist: non-toxic ammunition has been on the market for some time and is readily available. It has already been extensively tested — for example, in the Stelvio National Park, where, as in the Natura 2000 wetlands, lead-containing ammunition is prohibited by law. But apparently this restriction is not sufficient. The Greens are therefore calling for a ban on the use of lead ammunition throughout the entire province of Bolzano via a resolution motion.
More on this in the dossier: Hunting and Animal Protection
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