• The California congressman who introduced the 2008 Condor Territory Law, which made California the first state in the nation to enact state legislation banning the use of lead hunting ammunition, now plans to introduce a new piece of legislation to ban the use of lead shot in California wildlife areas.
• As reflected below, California Assembly member Pedro Nava – who is running for California Attorney General – will hold a press conference tomorrow to formally announce his proposed legislation.
• Nava will be joined tomorrow by The Humane Society of the United States, which – you may recall – has been calling for a nationwide ban on lead-shot ammunition and published a report in December entitled: “Time to Get the Lead Out of Ammunition.”
• The national Humane Society organization is a leading opponent of hunting, fishing and trapping and has spearheaded numerous anti-hunting initiatives, including leading the charge in a 2006 ballot campaign to ban dove hunting in Michigan, and contributing $1.6 million to the effort.
• Although Montana’s proposed hunting regulation to ban lead shotshells for upland bird hunting on certain state-owned hunting lands was defeated earlier this month, there continues to be a growing momentum towards requiring non-lead shotshells for upland game and dove hunting on state lands.
• Approximately four in ten states now ban the use of lead shotshells for dove hunting on at least some state-managed hunting properties. Some recent examples include:
• The Idaho Fish and Game Commission is proposing that state wildlife management areas require non-toxic shot for upland game and turkey hunting, beginning with the 2010 hunting seasons.
• Delaware began to require dove hunters to use non-lead shot on state wildlife areas during the September portion of its 2009 dove season.
• Wisconsin enacted a new regulation last year that now requires non-lead shotshells for dove hunting on all state lands.
• Washington has begun a three-year phase-in of new non-toxic shot requirements for upland game and dove hunting on state hunting lands.
• Texas -- the number-one dove hunting state in the nation – is in the third phase of its multi-year Dove Lead Toxicity Research Project to help direct future recommendations regarding a potential ban on lead shotshells for dove hunting in the state.
Nava Announces Introduction of Bill Banning the Use of Lead Shot in State Wildlife Areas
• Nava Will Be Joined by Audubon California, Defenders of Wildlife, the Humane Society and other Environmental Groups
• What: Press conference regarding Nava’s proposal to ban the use of toxic lead shot in all California State Wild Life Areas
• When: Wednesday, February 24, 2010, 11 a.m.
• Where: State Capitol, Room 1190
• Who: Assembly member Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara)
Audubon California
Defenders of Wildlife
The Humane Society of the United States
• The bill will expand existing federal limitations on the use of lead shot to include all 627,000 acres of California’s most important wildlife habitat that host many species which are listed as threatened, endangered or fully protected under state law.
• “This is an important environmental issue for California wildlife,” said Assembly member Nava. “The science is increasingly clear that lead shot poses a real danger to bird populations on these lands. With viable alternatives to lead shot – this is just a no-brainer.”
• Two years ago, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Nava’s Ridley Tree Condor Preservation Act that banned the use of lead ammunition in California condor country. The ban has been instrumental in the recovery of the endangered California condor.