Author: TJ Schwanky
T.J. Schwanky is one of Canada’s most prolific outdoor writers, penning nearly 1,500 articles since he began writing in 1986. He is also host and producer of Canada’s longest-running hunting television series, Outdoor Quest TV, now in its 24th season of broadcast on Sportsman Channel Canada. TJ has a passion for big game hunting and has hunted on six continents, but his real love is hunting sheep, elk, moose and deer in North America. He has taken a grand slam of North American sheep and has several animals in the record books with rifle and muzzleloader. TJ is recognized as an expert on mountain hunting and long-range shooting and lives in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Canada. He hunts extensively with his partner, Vanessa Harrop, who also shares his passion for wild places.
A recent study conducted in the United States certainly opened some eyes. Testing on more than 1,200 eagles from Alaska to Florida showed that 46 percent of bald eagles and 47 percent of golden eagles had chronic lead poisoning. Over time, ingested lead becomes stored in bones. Nearly half of 448 dead birds whose femurs were tested had chronic poisoning, the study said. Older birds had higher concentrations of lead in their bones, which suggests they had multiple, cumulative exposures. While the cause of the ingested lead has not been extensively studied, many researchers are pointing a finger at hunter-killed…