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Hampton JO, Eccles G, Hunt R, Bengsen AJ, Perry AL, Parker S, Miller CJ, Joslyn SK, Stokke S, Arnemo JM, Hart Q. A comparison of fragmenting lead-based and lead-free bullets for aerial shooting of wild pigs. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0247785. [PMID: 33705434 PMCID: PMC7951828 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In response to the health threats posed by toxic lead to humans, scavenging wildlife and the environment, there is currently a focus on transitioning from lead-based to lead-free bullets for shooting of wild animals. We compared efficiency metrics and terminal ballistic performance for lead-based and lead-free (non-lead) bullets for aerial shooting of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) in eastern Australia. Ballistic testing revealed that lead-based and lead-free bullets achieved similar performance in precision and muzzle kinetic energy (E0) levels (3337.2 J and 3345.7 J, respectively). An aerial shooting trial was conducted with wild pigs shot with one type of lead-based and one type of lead-free bullets under identical conditions. Observations were made from 859 shooting events (n = 430 and 429 respectively), with a sub-set of pigs examined via gross post-mortem (n = 100 and 108 respectively), and a further sub-set examined via radiography (n = 94 and 101 respectively). The mean number of bullets fired per pig killed did not differ greatly between lead-based and lead-free bullets respectively (4.09 vs 3.91), nor did the mean number of bullet wound tracts in each animal via post-mortem inspection (3.29 vs 2.98). However, radiography revealed a higher average number of fragments per animal (median >300 vs median = 55) and a broader distribution of fragments with lead-based bullets. Our results suggest that lead-based and lead-free bullets are similarly effective for aerial shooting of wild pigs, but that the bullet types behave differently, with lead-based bullets displaying a higher degree of fragmentation. These results suggest that aerial shooting may be a particularly important contributor to scavenging wildlife being exposed to lead and that investigation of lead-free bullets for this use should continue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan O Hampton
- Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.,School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Grant Eccles
- New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Rob Hunt
- New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Andrew J Bengsen
- Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Orange, NSW, Australia
| | - Andrew L Perry
- Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Steve Parker
- New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Corissa J Miller
- Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | | | | | - Jon M Arnemo
- Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Faculty of Applied Ecology and Agricultural Sciences, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Koppang, Norway.,Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Quentin Hart
- New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
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Factors and costs associated with removal of a newly established population of invasive wild pigs in Northern U.S. Sci Rep 2020; 10:11528. [PMID: 32661318 PMCID: PMC7359029 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-68264-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The human-mediated spread of exotic and invasive species often leads to unintentional and harmful consequences. Invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are one such species that have been repeatedly translocated throughout the United States and cause extensive damage to natural ecosystems, threatened and endangered species, agricultural resources, and private lands. In 2005, a newly established population of wild pigs was confirmed in Fulton County, Illinois, U.S. In 2011, a state-wide wild pig damage management program involving federal, state, and local government authorities directed a concerted effort to remove wild pigs from the county until the last wild pig (of 376 total) was successfully removed in 2016. We examined surveillance data from camera traps at bait sites and records of wild pig removals during this elimination program to identify environmental and anthropogenic factors that optimized removal of this population. Our results revealed that wild pigs used bait sites most during evening and nocturnal periods and on days with lower daily maximum temperatures. Increased removals of wild pigs coincided with periods of cold weather. We also identified that fidelity and time spent at bait sites by wild pigs was not influenced by increasing removals of wild pigs. Finally, the costs to remove wild pigs averaged $50 per wild pig (6.8 effort hours per wild pig) for removing the first 99% of the animals. Cost for removing the last 1% increased 84-fold, and averaged 122.8 effort hours per wild pig removed. Our results demonstrated that increased effort in removing wild pigs using bait sites should be focused during periods of environmental stress to maximize removal efficiency. These results inform elimination programs attempting to remove newly established populations of wild pigs, and ultimately prevent population and geographic expansion.
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Anette B, Anette B, Theodora CV, Klaus D, Daniel D, Vittorio G, Georgina H, Daniela K, Annick L, Aleksandra M, Simon M, Edvins O, Sasa O, Helen R, Mihaela S, Karl S, Hans‐Hermann T, Grigaliuniene V, Arvo V, Richard W, Grzegorz W, José AC, Sofie D, Andrey G, Corina I, Alexandra P, González VLC, Christian GS. Epidemiological analyses of African swine fever in the European Union (November 2018 to October 2019). EFSA J 2020. [DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2020.5996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
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