美国国家公共电台 NPR Lead Ammunition Poisons Wildlife But Too Expensive To Change, Hunters Say

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The day before Donald Trump¹'s inauguration², the outgoing Obama administration passed a last-minute directive banning the use of lead ammunition³ and fishing sinkers on federal lands. The regulation is intended to protect wildlife from lead poisoning. But hunters are hoping the Trump administration will overturn it - and soon. WPSU's Eleanor Klibanoff reports.

ELEANOR KLIBANOFF, BYLINE⁴: The big draw at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center in northeastern Pennsylvania is out back.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRDS CHIRPING)

KLIBANOFF: In large wire enclosures, there are hawks⁵, vultures and a beautiful bald eagle recovering from a run-in with a car. A few weeks ago, an officer from the Pennsylvania Game Commission brought the wildlife rescue another bald eagle. But this one didn't look quite so elegant.

SUSAN GALLAGHER: Sometimes, you just get a gut⁶ feeling what's wrong with these birds, and our gut said this was lead poisoning.

KLIBANOFF: Chief naturalist⁷ Susan Gallagher said the bird was vomiting⁸ and had lime-green diarrhea, along with other classic symptoms.

GALLAGHER: Bird comes in with its head down and its hackles up - the feathers on the back of its neck are up. It looks a little disoriented. The bird had all of those problems. And they just look like they don't feel well.

KLIBANOFF: It's hard to know exactly how lead fragments got into this eagle's gizzard, but the most common source is ammunition. Eagles and other birds scavenge remains⁹ left behind by hunters, ammo included. This is what the Obama administration was trying to stop with the ban on lead ammunition and fishing tackle on most federal lands. Environmental groups like the Center for Biological Diversity in Oakland, Calif., have been advocating for this kind of action for years. Jonathan Evans is the environmental health legal director

JONATHAN EVANS: Waterfowl hunters have been successfully using lead-free ammunition nationwide for decades, ever since lead shot was phased out in 1991.

KLIBANOFF: Evans thinks the Obama directive is a good start, but he wants to see that 1991 ban extended to all ammunition and fishing gear on all public lands. The difference is then, there was conclusive¹⁰ proof that lead was harming the population of waterfowl.

LAWRENCE KEANE: Bald eagle populations are soaring in the United States. I mean, they're at record levels.

KLIBANOFF: Lawrence Keane is senior vice¹¹ president at the National Shooting Sports Foundation. He opposes the ban because he doesn't think it's necessary and it will make hunting more expensive.

KEANE: There's no reason to ban traditional ammunition unless there's evidence of a population impact and that's the only solution to address that problem.

KLIBANOFF: Unlike eagles and most wildlife, lead does have population-level effects on condors¹², an endangered species living mostly in California and Arizona. Those states, along with a handful of others, have instituted lead-reduction programs. California has the most wide-ranging ban on lead ammunition, while Arizona has tried a voluntary approach, offering hunters copper¹³ ammunition free of charge.

The Obama directive complements¹⁴ these state-level programs - if it survives. President Donald Trump has promised to undo¹⁵ many of the Obama-era regulations, though this specific issue hasn't been addressed yet. Back at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center, Susan Gallagher is convinced hunters don't need laws or proof of population change to choose non-lead ammunition. They just need to spend a little time with a lead-poisoned eagle.

GALLAGHER: Had you seen this bird suffer and go through what it went through and then walked into a sporting goods store, absolutely. You'd make that choice, absolutely.

KLIBANOFF: Despite round-the-clock rehydration and chelation treatments, the eagle died a few days after he was brought to the center.

For NPR News, I'm Eleanor Klibanoff in State College, Pa.

(SOUNDBITE OF EPIC45'S "SECRET MAPS OF ENGLAND")

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

3 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 hawks   

鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物

参考例句：

• Two hawks were hover ing overhead. 两只鹰在头顶盘旋。
• Both hawks and doves have expanded their conditions for ending the war. 鹰派和鸽派都充分阐明了各自的停战条件。

6 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

7 naturalist   

n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者)

参考例句：

• He was a printer by trade and naturalist by avocation.他从事印刷业，同时是个博物学爱好者。
• The naturalist told us many stories about birds.博物学家给我们讲述了许多有关鸟儿的故事。

8 vomiting   

吐

参考例句：

• Symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting. 症状有腹泻和呕吐。
• Especially when I feel seasick, I can't stand watching someone else vomiting." 尤其晕船的时候，看不得人家呕。”

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 conclusive   

adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的

参考例句：

• They produced some fairly conclusive evidence.他们提供了一些相当确凿的证据。
• Franklin did not believe that the French tests were conclusive.富兰克林不相信这个法国人的实验是结论性的。

11 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

12 condors   

n.神鹰( condor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• What would our condors feed on if no one was in danger? 你不发生危险，那我们秃鹰吃啥呢？ 来自互联网
• Yo mama so fat she has been declared a natural habitat for Condors. Yomama是如此之肥，她被定为秃鹰的自然栖息地。 来自互联网

13 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

14 complements   

补充( complement的名词复数 )； 补足语； 补充物； 补集（数）

参考例句：

• His business skill complements her flair for design. 他的经营技巧和她的设计才能相辅相成。
• The isoseismal maps are valuable complements to the instrumental records. 等震线图是仪器记录有价值的补充资料。

15 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。