The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently approved four new nontoxic shot types for waterfowl and coot hunting in the United States.
" The Services approval of these four shot types demonstrates our determination to make it easier for waterfowl hunters to comply with the restrictions on lead shot. Hunters now have a wider choice of shot types and this will continue to lessen the exposure of waterfowl to lead," said Service Director H. Dale Hall. "The Service appreciates the efforts of the companies that have developed alternatives to lead shot."
The approved shot types are:
A formulation of tungsten-iron-copper-nickel (TICN) shot, composed of 40-76 percent tungsten, 10-37 percent iron, 9-16 percent copper and 5-7 percent nickel produced by Spherical Precision, Inc. of Tustin, Calif.;
A formulation of iron-tungsten-nickel (ITN) alloys composed of 20-70 percent tungsten, 10-40 percent nickel, and 10-70 percent iron produced by ENVIRON-Metal Inc. of Sweet Home, Ore.;
A formulation of tungsten-bronze (TB) shot made of 60 percent tungsten, 35.1 percent copper, 3.9 percent tin, and 1 percent iron produced by Olin Corporation of East Alton, Ill.; and
A formulation of tungsten-tin-iron (TTI) shot composed of 58 percent tungsten, 38 percent tin, and 4 percent iron produced by Nice Shot, Inc., of Albion, Penn.
Waterfowl can ingest expended lead shot and die from lead poisoning. Efforts to phase out lead shot began in the 1970s, and a nationwide ban on lead shot for all waterfowl hunting was implemented in 1991. Canada followed with a complete ban in 1999.
A study in the mid-1990s suggested that the nationwide ban in the United States on the use of lead shot for waterfowl hunting has had remarkable success. Six years after the ban, researchers estimated a 64 percent reduction in lead poisoning deaths of surveyed mallard ducks and a 78 percent decline in lead pellet ingestion. The study concluded the restrictions on lead shot have prevented the deaths of thousands of waterfowl.
With the approval of these new shot types, the list of approved shot types for waterfowl hunting now includes bismuth-tin, iron (steel), iron-tungsten (two types), iron-tungsten-nickel, tungsten-bronze, tungsten-iron-copper-nickel, tungsten-matrix, tungsten-polymer, tungsten-tin-iron, tungsten-tin-bismuth, and tungsten-tin-iron-nickel.
For more information on toxic and nontoxic shot, please see http://migratorybirds.fws.gov/issues/nontoxic_shot/nontoxic.htm
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 63 Fish and Wildlife Management offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
