(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Three bald eagles have died at the Illinois Raptor Center in Decatur this month. The cause of death: lead poisoning.
Eagles are scavengers and what’s left behind after a deer is shot, for example, can be deadly.
Experts say a tiny bullet fragment is enough to cause a painful death.
Illinois Raptor Center Program Director Jacques Nuzzo tells CBS 3 in Champaign: “It’s extremely heart-wrenching to see something as magnificent as a bald eagle dying on your table.”
Since 2018, the center has admitted 38 bald eagles, and 19 of them experienced lead toxicity.
Those numbers align with recent research that found nearly half of bald eagles tested across the U.S. showed signs of chronic lead exposure.
Nuzzo said even the treatment for lead poisoning is very hard on the birds.
Hunters could switch to ammunition that does not contain lead, he said.
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