Iowa Youth and Disabled Hunters Open Deer Season Saturday

With the first deer season of the fall opening Saturday, wildlife conservationists would like to urge hunters to buy nontoxic shot.

Nontoxic shot has been used to hunt waterfowl for 20 years, because traditional shot containing lead leaches into the water poisoning anything that ingests it.

When the toxic shot is used on deer, any animals that might scavenge carcasses or eat the shot itself might ingest the heavy metal, said Kay Neumann, executive director of SOAR, an organization dedicated to saving avian resources.

High lead levels can affect the nervous system and eyesight. Long-term exposure can cause liver and kidney damage. People eating deer hunted with toxic shot might also be affected, said Neumann, who has also pushed to ban toxic dove shot.

Both youth and disabled hunters are allowed to begin deer hunting in Iowa Saturday.

The early hunting season is designed to provide greater hunting opportunities to the youth and the disabled before the start of the December shotgun season.

In 2010, 8,550 youth hunters and 230 disabled hunters harvested 3,200 deer, according to a report from the Iowa DNR.