California Hunters Targeted Again

California hunters: Targeted again

Nava bill would impact have negative impact on California sport hunting

By Gary Roussan

Groups against hunting will go to just about any measure to stop hunting in California. The latest attempt to do that is a new bill (AB1002) introduced by Assemblyman Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara). The bill would outlaw the use of lead bullets and lead shot statewide.
The two issues that would outlaw lead ammunition for hunting in condor range (the condor is near extinction) and phase in the elimination of lead ammunition for all hunting throughout the state, were brought to the California Fish and Game Commission at its February meeting in San Diego.

The commission called for more research into actual impacts before making a recommendation and voted "no" on both counts.

The environmental groups that took the issue to the state Legislature are the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Biological Diversity.

Their concern is that hunters who use lead bullets for hunting in the California condor range, which encompasses roughly the bottom one-third of the state, could be leaving gut piles from animals taken while hunting. If the condors feed on the gut piles, they could ingest lead from a bullet.

These concerns have already been addressed by organizations like the Safari Club International, the National Rifle Association, the National Shooting Sports Foundation and others, who are continuing to develop a voluntary program for hunters who live within the condor range. The program stresses hunter education and voluntary action to reduce lead that could get into condors and provides a reasonable alternative to bans on lead shot and bullets.

The program asks hunters to remove or bury all gut piles for all animals taken and to use nonlead ammunition when possible.

Workshops have been set up in Goleta and San Luis Obispo. This will increase the awareness of the issue and provide information on the voluntary actions hunters and ranchers can take to disrupt this exposure pathway.

Environmentalists don't seem to understand that eliminating lead bullets will do more harm than good in preserving California's wildlife. The skyrocketing cost of ammo that would result from manufacturers scrambling to develop an alternative bullet would drive people out of hunting, significantly reducing the sales of hunting licenses, tags and stamps whose revenues fuel the California Department of Fish and Game and state wildlife conservation efforts.

The sale of hunting ammunition would be greatly reduced, along with hunting gear and other related sporting goods, resulting in a reduction in federal Pittman-Robertson dollars our state receives for every dollar spent for these types of things. This would reduce the ability of the DFG to manage state wildlife areas, related hunting programs and other wildlife related activities.

Sound science again must lead in making decisions about our natural resources and that is what the Fish and Game Commission is designed to do. The Legislature created the Fish and Game Commission and granted it the authority to make these decisions several decades ago. Undermining its decisions and authority is not the right thing to do.

Hunters have always been the nation's true environmentalists, and they are willing to take steps to address concerns relating to possible lead poisoning by removing the problem of gut piles and carcasses of animals they take.

Environmentalists should stop and take time to understand that hunters are actually their strongest allies in wildlife conservation. But there is no doubt in my mind they will continue to try to eliminate hunting altogether, which could be the beginning of the end for California's wildlife resources and our hunting heritage.

All those who oppose AB1002 should immediately contact their representatives in the Assembly, or at the very least, direct their concerns to the bill's author, Assemblyman Pedro Nava, Capitol Building, No. 5144, Sacramento, CA 95814; phone (916) 319-2008; FAX (916) 319-2108, email, [email protected].