....There was never any doubt that DDT and related compounds were very largely responsible for the decline of bird and fish-eating raptors. They were solely responsible for the near disappearance of other fish-eating birds....
....However, there is absolutely no doubt that ingested lead killed huge numbers of waterfowl and still kills many scavenging birds, which include eagles as well as vultures and condors. This is not a recent issue - fifty years ago a game warden on Sauvies Island outside Portland OR told me of picking up hundreds of 'green-asses' every year, ducks that had starved because ingested lead....
....I love my old guns and hate steel shot but facts is facts.
I'm sure real evidence is out there some where, but I'd hope it's fair to say that second hand, now third hand anecdotes don't quite meet the facts is facts level. Another anecdote that isn't really relevant is that on a past anti lead thread, there was only one credible reference by a wildlife biologist that included lab analysis of a single Mallard found in the field, dead due to lead poisoning. Again, there may be good scientific evidence available, but it seems difficult to find.
On another point, folks familiar with the agriculture business may be able to confirm it, but I believe DDT was available as an ingredient in other commercially labeled pest control products well into the mid nineties. I'd suspect it wasn't as widely available, but I believe the truth is that it was in use well after most folks assumed a full ban was in effect.
I believe there is a disconnect between the time when people anecdotally see improvement results, and the actual time that things were outlawed. I think there is also an underappreciated increase in difficulty bringing cost effective food to consumers. I can recall living in an area as a kid that used DDT foggers in residential neighborhoods to control a mosquito outbreak. Today, when a deadly mosquito born illness outbreak occurs, the official response is for residents to look for and empty incidental standing water. Huh? Only thoughts.
