Wildlife

Red Kite Welfare and Lead Poisoning

Red kites, successfully reintroduced across Britain, face ongoing welfare threats from lead poisoning via contaminated carcasses.

Key Facts

Red kites ingest lead fragments from shot game carcasses
Lead poisoning causes neurological symptoms and slow death
Post-mortems show lead toxicity in a significant proportion of dead kites
Copper ammunition alternatives perform equally to lead ammunition

Welfare Considerations

Lead poisoning in red kites causes progressive neurological degeneration, weakness, inability to fly, and ultimately death over days to weeks. It is one of the most prevalent causes of preventable suffering and mortality in this recovered population. Simple substitution of copper for lead shot would eliminate the risk.

What You Can Do

Advocate for mandatory copper ammunition in game shooting
Support campaigns by wildlife organizations against lead ammunition
If shooting game, use only non-lead alternatives
Report sick or dead raptors to wildlife monitoring programs