Whatever a slam dunk is, this from federal Environment and Climate Change Canada website:
"Increased exposure to heavy metals can cause:
weight loss, weakness
blindness, muscle paralysis, seizures
increased likelihood of predation
increased susceptibility to disease and infection
altered patterns in foraging behaviour, loss of appetite
reduced ability to reproduce
"Researchers use a combination of field study and laboratory analysis to identify, track and investigate the effects of heavy metals in wildlife species, specifically birds, and their environments. Where heavy metals are suspected, researchers investigate food sources, food chain transfers, individual species and ecosystem functioning.
"Research on heavy metals is helping to predict adverse effects of environmental contamination and aiding the development of science-based environmental policies and regulations for the management of environmental lead and mercury contamination.
Lead
"Research on lead in wildlife has focused mainly on the issue of ‘lead shot,’ small pellets of metallic lead used as projectiles in shotgun ammunition for hunting and target shooting. A related issue is the accidental ingestion of small lead fishing sinkers and jigs used in recreational angling.
Waterbirds can ingest spent lead pellets or lost fishing tackle, resulting in poisoning. In addition, birds shot with lead pellets and not retrieved by hunters can become a source of secondary poisoning for predatory and scavenging wildlife. Other animals may prey upon dead or wounded game animals having lead shot embedded in their tissues.
Research ongoing since the 1960s led researchers to conclude that lead shot was the most important source of elevated lead exposure in waterfowl and some other waterbirds species. It was estimated that annual lead poisoning affected 250,000 birds in Canada, and about 2.5 million across North America.
Based on this research, Environment Canada banned use of lead shot for hunting most migratory game bird species. The nation-wide ban, in place since 1999, has resulted in a dramatic decrease in elevated lead exposure in wild waterfowl. It was found that elevated lead in bones of migrating ducks decreased between 52% and 90% depending on the species and location sampled."
