Lead poisoning from ingesting fragments of lead ammunition in hunter-killed carcasses and gut piles is a major and preventable cause of bald eagle suffering and death.
Lead poisoning causes a prolonged and agonizing death in bald eagles. Neurological symptoms progress from weakness and inability to fly to seizures and paralysis over days to weeks. Eagles found alive are often beyond saving due to irreversible neurological damage. The tragedy is that this suffering is entirely preventable: switching to copper or other non-lead ammunition eliminates the source of exposure without affecting hunting effectiveness. Every hunter who makes this switch prevents eagle suffering, making this one of the clearest individual behavior changes that directly reduces wildlife welfare harm.