Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

NNSL (July 26/99) - Effective Sept. 1, 1999, the possession or the use of lead shot for the purpose of hunting most migratory game birds will be prohibited in Canada.

The use of lead shot is already prohibited from within 200 meters of wetland areas and National Parks, but with the exception of upland and some coarse migratory game birds, the new regulations will make using lead shot illegal.

Lead shot from hunting rifles is estimated to kill some 250,000 waterfowl each year and poison millions more. Additionally, many other animals, including birds of prey and other predators that feed on waterfowl die from ingesting lead-contaminated meat that is left behind by hunters.

According to NWT Canadian Wildlife Services enforcement officer Neil Scott, there are some misconceptions held by hunters as to the use of non-toxic shot that may make the acceptance of the new regulations difficult.

"The biggest one is that they feel that steel shot will harm their firearms," Scott said.

"There's a possibility that you will get a little ring bulge at the end of your barrel if you got a real tight choke, but it won't effect the performance or the safety of the firearm, that's for sure.

"People seem to think that using steel shot will result in more crippled birds just because it's less dense and they feel that it won't hit as hard. All the studies that have been done, however, have found that it has almost nothing to do with the shot, but hunter accuracy."

The practical concern over switching from lead shot to non-toxic shot appears to be the cost.

"There's a big difference in price between the various bird shot available on the market," said Dale Johnston, owner of Wolverine Sports Shop in Yellowknife

Lead shot generally runs anywhere from $7 to $15 for a box of 25 shells, while steel shot runs from $14 to $25 dollars for a box of 25 shells.

Tungsten and Bismuth shot, while arguable more reliable, is even more expensive, hovering around the $35 mark for a box of 10 shells.

"I find that most people are willing to try the steel shot," Johnston said.

Kirk Elliot, regional sales manager for Kent Cartridge Canada, concurs that some of the more expensive bird shot on the market might be a tough sale to some hunters.

"The biggest problem from switching over from lead shot is the price," Elliot said. "We have a tungsten matrix shot available on the market and it is a lot more dense and travels and hits harder, but it is lot more expensive. The new product was developed about a year and half ago and used for the first time last year under conditional approval by the federal government."

New bird shot products must undergo a three-tiered test by the federal government before the product can gain approval for use by consumers.

In Rankin Inlet, Nunavut Wildlife officer Elijah Amarook feels that the switch over from lead to at least steel shot will not be a difficult adjustment for hunters to make.

"The stores are in the process of taking out lead shot and replacing it with steel shot," Amarook said. "Steel is much safer than lead because it doesn't deteriorate in the environment and in the water."

"I guess it is the way to go.

"To me it is not much of a problem to switch over."A