69 / 156
67
Table 3:
Summary of proportions of wildfowl with ingested gunshot from UK studies of hunter-shot birds and birds found dead.
Species
Birds found dead
All data from Newth
et al.
(2012) and
WWT
post mortem
database.
Birds shot by hunters
References
(birds shot by hunters only)
N
(sample
size)
Number
with
ingested
gunshot
%with
ingested
gunshot
N
(sample
size)
Number
with
ingested
gunshot
%with
ingested
gunshot
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
479
15
3.1
2016
91
4.5
Olney (1960), Thomas (1975),
Mudge (1983), Street (1983)
European wigeon
Anas penelope
24
0
0
862
0
0
Olney (1960), Thomas (1975),
Mudge (1983)
Common teal
Anas crecca
68
1
1.5
1188
12
1
Olney (1960), Thomas (1975),
Mudge (1983)
Northern shoveler
Anas clypeata
16
0
0
133
3
2.3
Olney (1960), Thomas (1975),
Mudge (1983)
Pochard
Aythya ferina
72
12
16.7
130
11
8.5
Olney (1968), Thomas (1975),
Mudge (1983)
Northern pintail
Anas acuta
60
5
8.3
162
21
13
Thomas (1975), Mudge (1983)
Tufted duck
Aythya fuligula
79
2
2.5
103
9
8.7
Thomas (1975), Mudge (1983)
Gadwall
Anas strepera
65
0
0
42
2
4.8
Thomas (1975), Mudge (1983)
Goldeneye
Bucephala clangula
1
0
0
15
1
6.7
Mudge (1983)
Pink-footed goose
Anser
brachyrhynchus
25
2
8
73
2
2.7
Mudge (1983)
White-fronted
goose
Anser albifrons
8
0
0
30
0
0
Mudge (1983)
Greylag goose
Anser anser
133
9
6.8
42
3
7.1
Mudge (1983)
Barnacle goose
Branta leucopsis
99
13
13.1
61
0
0
Mudge (1983)
Total
1129
59
5.2
4857
155
3.2
Mute swan
Cygnus olor
548
27
4.9
548*
16*
3.0*
*Swans are protected and
numbers of ‘shot’ swans
containing ingested lead are
estimated from the ratio of
gunshot in found dead to hunter-
shot birds in the other species.
Whooper swan
Cygnus cygnus
414
98
23.7
414*
60*
14.6*
Bewick’s swan
Cygnus columbianus
bewickii
99
13
13.1
99*
8*
8.1*
Totals combined from all studies cited. The study of Olney (1960) did not cite the origin of the birds but wildfowlers were thanked in the acknowledgements for
provision of birds and the text indicated that a small number of birds sent in for
post mortem
examination had been found to suffer from lead poisoning (although
it did not state whether these were included). We have assumed that the birds in Olney’s study were hunter shot. For the study of Thomas (1975) we have
subtracted six mallard with gunshot in the gizzard as six birds had ‘shot in’gunshot and it was unclear whether these had already been excluded from the results.
Lead poisoning of wildlife in the UK