Rookhawk, I did not think you would flush so early, but I knew you would eventually. Now this hunter (or sociopath as you call us) would like to correct you on a few of your rebuttal points.
You said, "Birds don't pass foreign matter like a mammal. It lingers in their crop until it either regurgitates or it dies." That is wrong. Actually, bird digestive tracts are typically much shorter than most mammals and they don't have urinary tracts which means that liquid waste in the form of mostly uric acid is excreted along with the solids. Undigestible solids can and do pass right through. That is why we often see whole seeds, which were not ground up by the gizzard, in bird droppings. Some solids like intentionally or accidentally ingested grit may be retained by the gizzard or linger in the crop until it is regurgitated along with other undigestable matter. Lead pellets or bullet fragments are among those undigestible items that are thusly excreted out of one end or the other, i.e., cloaca or mouth. Actually, birds are very efficient at expelling solid waste because they eat a larger percentage of their body weight each day to support their faster metabolisms than most other vertebrates. So if they did not excrete these solids quickly, they would soon amass too much weight to fly. In many coastal areas of the world, this solid matter accumulates many feet thick as bird guano, and it is mined or dug up to produce fertilizer.
You said, "Raptors do not eat grit or gravel nor do they have a "gizzard" as you put it". Actually, they only pick up grit or gravel incidentally as it sticks to the raw meat they consume. This incidental grit may be retained for a time in their ventriculum which is also known as a gizzard. Raptor gizzards (ventriculum) are usually not as large as those found in herbivorous birds, but they do indeed have them to assist in grinding and mashing meat before it passes into the stomach and intestinal tract. I knew this to be true, but it has been over 25 years since I had courses in comparative vertebrate anatomy, so I got my books out and double checked myself to make certain it was you who is wrong.
You are the one who cited lead isotope analysis as the tool used to ascertain that a certain condor died from lead poisoning due to ingesting "munitions grade lead" Now you change your story to say that lead can be analyzed to determine if it is alloyed with certain metals or to see if it has been smelted, thus verifying that it is bullet metal. First, let me repeat, there is no such thing as "munitions grade lead". The lead that is used in wheelweights, fishing sinkers and jigs, roof flashing, old pipes, antique toy soldiers, and a million other things including bullets and shot is all the same. I have already explained that all of these items can be of the same or different lead isotopes. I could also doctor a condor carcass with tortillas and guacamole if I wanted to blame condor deaths on an influx of illegal Mexican immigrants. In short, I don't believe the perigrine fund junk science. Neither should you. It is making you look foolish and gullible.
Unfortunately, you have already tipped your hand and showed us your cards. Although most of us avoid gut shots at all costs, you want us to remove or bury all gut piles because hunting disgusts you. It matters not at all that the vast majority of gut piles contain zero lead. To you, varmint hunters are sociopaths, no different than sick folks who would beat a kitten with a ball bat. To you, it is fortunate for us that we have a hunting license and game laws or we would all face prison as Michael Vick did for his dog fighting animal cruelty charges. What we do may be legal, but in your mind, it is immoral and you are working to change things. You start with an inch and then go for a mile. But I know your types. I have engaged and debated your types before. You all have your special warm and fuzzy creature you feel compelled to protect. It may be kittens or raptors or whales or some other Disney creature. You think you are better and more moral than we who hunt or eat meat. But in the end, almost invariably, your deep respect for sentient life is found to be limited too. You are not at all like those certain Bhuddist Monks who precede their steps with a broom so as not to accidentally kill even the smallest creature. No, you will be found wearing leather shoes or belts. You will wantonly kill some of God's creatures just the same as the rest of us. Just let a rat or mouse gnaw its' way into your house and you will kill and poison, suffering creature be damned. You will swat a housefly or a mosquito without a second thought and if you ever found cockroaches in your apartment, nothing would stop you from going after them with all out extermination. We find then that your definition of sentient life is confined to your own area of warm and fuzzy interest. In short, we find that you are petty hippocrites.
