LARNACA, Cyprus (AP) — Conservationists in Cyprus are urging authorities to ban hunting along the southern edge of a salt lake wetlands amid concerns that migrating flamingos could ingest lethal quantities of lead shotgun pellets. The director of a bird conservation group says flamingos are at risk of ingesting pellets lying on the lakebed because they can’t distinguish them from the pebbles they swallow to aid digestion. The Cyprus Game and Fauna Service says in just two months last year, 96 flamingos were found dead in the Larnaca Salt Lake wetlands, poisoned by lead shot. The area hosts some 15,000 flamingos, who come to the Mediterranean island nation to stay for the winter.
Cyprus activists: Hunters’ lead pellets threaten flamingos
