Lead Contamination in the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) in Italy

The main cause of lead poisoning in waterfowl is due to ingestion of spent lead shot in areas of high hunting pressure . Italian literature on this subject is very scarce and the few available studies concern episodic cases. to contribute to the assessment of the impact of lead shot in waterfowl in Italy, systematic research has been carried out on shorebirds caught for ringing in Tiscany and are continuing on dabbling and diving ducks by checking the presence of lead in blood samples and lead shot in the gizzard. This study targets the mallard duck. 17 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab.