In this day and age are you surprised to find there is a good amount of lead still being used in hunting and fishing? The group 'Sporting Lead-Free' is a Wyoming based organization associated with the Teton Raptor Center that is trying to raise enough awareness to get people to think twice before using lead.

Lead exposure death numbers in humans is surprising and according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 1.06 Million deaths worldwide were associated to lead exposure in 2017. Not all from hunting or fishing, but all types of lead exposure.

The concern of the group is that wildlife can ingest lead (bullets, shot, tackle) that hunters and anglers accidentally leave behind. An example of leaving behind lead on accident is a hunter that shoots an animal, field dresses the animal and leaves the animals insides for other animals to eat. If the hunter doesn't retrieve the lead based bullet...birds and other animals could possibly ingest the lead bullet.

Another example would be you harvesting an animal with a lead bullet and taking the meat home and fragments of the bullet staying in the meat. When your family eats the meat, they ingest the lead that is leftover from the bullet.

In Wyoming, some hunting does not allow for lead to be used in your ammunition and Sporting Lead-Free wants to educate all hunters and anglers to take a different route when it comes to choosing your ammo or tackle. They have many stats and figures for you to check out too.

The Sporting Lead-Free website says their mission is:

To help inform sporting communities about the benefits of using lead-free in the field to support the best choices for themselves, their families, and the environment. We want to achieve positive change that highlights the conservation ethics of hunters and anglers through a three-pronged approach.

The group isn't trying to end hunting, fishing, shooting or enjoyment of the great outdoors, but to educate on the usage of lead while you're enjoying those activities. Pinnacles National Park has an article on the importance of hunting and the concern of lead. 

The group of avid Hunters, Anglers and Outdoorsmen/women love to get out and hunt and fish, but are worried about the amount of lead that is left behind. If you're interested in hearing more, according to the website, they are willing to do a shooting demo/ talk or answer any questions you may have. To become a member and help the mission, it's free to do so at Sportingleadfree.org

This video is an educational look and conversation from those looking to end the use of lead.

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