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Ventana Wildlife Society
Press Release
September 14, 2007

Why the Governor should sign AB 821 into law

Hunters are conservationists and have a proud heritage. The few animals that do get away after being shot and lost in the field, are left behind for condors which would benefit them except that these carcasses contain poisonous lead ammunition fragments.  I say let hunters continue to maintain their conservation tradition, but if they can't switch to non-lead ammunition on their own the Governor should lead them to do so. No one is trying to take away hunting, only the NRA and the gun lobby makes this ridiculous claim. 

In California, 12 condors have died from lead poisoning, making it the most significant source of condor mortality. As a member of the California Condor Recovery Team, I help to test wild-flying condors for lead poisoning. In the fall immediately following deer hunting season, blood lead levels in condors rise significantly higher than any other time of year. We have recovered lead fragments, pellets, and whole projectiles from the digestive systems of dead condors.

In 2005, I trapped condor 208, a female whose blood test showed a lead level of 1.70 parts per million – 17 times higher than the recommended not-to-exceed level in humans. After rehabilitation at the Los Angeles Zoo, this condor was released and went on to hatch the first chick in the Ventana Wilderness in over 100 years. Our intervention in this and many other cases is all that is keeping condors in the wild. But this kind of intensive management would not be necessary if we could get the lead out of the condor’s habitat.

Lead ammunition has a tendency to fragment into hundreds of pieces upon impact and it should also be of concern for hunters that provide game meat to their families. Lead is toxic; we've banned it from our gasoline and our paint. It doesn't make sense to pump it into the environment in the form of bullets.

There is no hope for condors until non-lead ammunition becomes more widely used throughout their range. The governor now has a unique opportunity to make that happen, by signing A.B. 821 into law. Signing this bill, which would require the use of non-toxic, non-lead ammunition throughout the condor’s range, would show that Governor Schwarzenegger is truly an environmental leader, and not beholden to the gun lobby.

The hunting community has a long-standing tradition of conservation, and should be embracing the use of widely available non-lead ammunition. Barnes Bullets, the leading manufacturer of non-lead ammunition, produces 137 different projectiles for 74 cartridges. The National Rifle Association awarded Barnes Bullets their “Golden Bullseye Award” for best new product of the year for their most recent non-lead variety, the MRX (Maximum Range).
 
Non-lead ammunition is gaining widespread support in the hunting community; two military and national guard bases, Fort Hunter Liggett and Camp Roberts, both popular hunting areas, have already phased out the use of lead bullets in hunting big-game, specifically because of the danger lead poses to condors and the environment. The largest private hunting preserve in the state, the Tejon Ranch, has also banned lead in big-game hunting.

The rights of hunters are not affected by replacing toxic lead ammunition with better choices. Regardless of whether the governor signs A.B. 821 into law, hunters will still hunt. But if the use of lead ammunition is continued in condor range, we will lose one of the most magnificent species of birds in the world. Voluntary efforts have been in effect for 10 years and they do not work. By signing this bill into law, the Governor is helping hunters to lead in the solution while also protecting the condor. 

Kelly Sorenson is the executive director of the Ventana Wildlife Society and a member of the California Condor Recovery Team.