Folks have tried to limit lead (Pb) exposure for generations. Its toxicity in humans was reported over 2,000 years ago. 

Historically in North America, market hunters and naturalists discovered many dying species due to lead exposure. Lead remains incredibly popular for sport shooting, recreation, and firearm training, which we advocate for folks to do so in the safest means available to them. Our work focuses on fair-chase hunting activities with firearms, as it's the most readily studied means of exposure to wildlife and people. Similarly, it's the least burdensome to switch as far as non-lead shooting goes. 

We aim to see more non-lead ammunition become available in the economical quantities available for lead-based plinking, training, and competition. In the meantime, we urge shooters, range managers, and anyone else frequently around firearm-based activities to exercise common sense. The array of considerations include range safety measures like ventilation for participants, target backstops, berms, the ease of recycling spent projectiles on the landscape, and the possible exposure to grit-eating birds, to name a few. 

The Wildlife Society Position Statement on Lead explains, "Upland game birds (e.g., doves and quail) and scavengers (e.g., vultures and eagles) have been documented to be exposed to lead, and ingestion of lead has been the limiting factor in the recovery of the California condor." Research continues to demonstrate various ways wildlife ingest lead and how the effects are wide-reaching.