Lead bullets - a health risk for humans and kea

Every year in New Zealand, recreational hunters shoot more than half a million wild game. Most are shot with lead-based ammunition. Now, researchers are investigating what happens to that lead, and how much of it is getting into the food chains of humans and the endangered kea. Alison Ballance speaks to scientists at Nelson-Marlborough Institute of Technology, and kea conservationists and predator control experts at the Department of Conservation to learn more.

Guests:

• Dr Eric Buenz, biomedical researcher at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology
• Professor Gareth Parry, Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology
• Adjunct Professor Myra Finkelstein, University of California, Santa Cruz
• Tom Brookman, Department of Conservation
• Dr Kerry Weston, Department of Conservation

Learn more:

• Read the web article for this episode.
• In Kea get a helping hand, Alison Ballance joins kea researchers at Arthur’s Pass.
• The kea’s close relative the kaka is also at risk from lead poisoning – check out Alison’s story on The dark side of being an urban parrot - kaka and lead.
• Find out more about the element lead in “Lead – sweet tasting but deadly” from the Elemental podcast series, which investigates the periodic table of chemical elements.
• Read the research mentioned in this episode about X-ray screening, and the latest research about kea and lead.

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Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details