Why is TPWD studying lead?
We already know lead is an environmental contaminant and has been shown to cause poisoning in more than 50 bird species other than waterfowl and including dove, but we do not know the extent of its impact. Recent studies in other states have concluded up to 5% of wild mourning doves ingest spent shot and the mortality rate is higher (43%) for those that ingest and retain 2 or fewer pellets than those that don’t. We have concerns about the applicability of those findings in Texas because the data was collected from dove harvested on heavily hunted public lands, and we believe heavily hunted areas only constitute a very small percent of the total land where doves feed in Texas. TPWD has designed a set of “real world studies” to help us learn about lead on the landscape, shot effectiveness and the shooting skills of hunters using both lead and non-toxic shot. This research is supported by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
