Health experts and children’s advocates from all over California have joined a growing coalition in support of AB 711, legislation requiring the use of non-lead ammunition in hunting. The bill, AB 711, authored by Assemblymembers Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) and Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), was approved on the Assembly Floor, 44-21 on May 16 and passed overwhelmingly in the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water.  It awaits action in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and leading scientists from around the country agree that there is no safe level of lead exposure for humans.  Due to the health dangers it poses, lead has been outlawed and removed from paint, gasoline, children’s toys and other products.

And yet lead-based ammunition remains one of the greatest sources of this toxin being discharged to our lands and waters, posing a significant risk to human health and the environment.

Here’s what leaders in the field of children’s health, the environment and others had to say:

"Lead is a potent neurotoxin, and 400,000 pieces of lead shot per acre in wild game territory pose a serious threat to human health, water supplies and wildlife." - Andrea Ventura, Toxics Program Manager, Clean Water Action

“Lead poisoning can lead to a variety of health problems in children, including but not limited to decreased bone and muscle growth, damage to the nervous system, kidneys, and/or hearing, speech and language problems, and other developmental delays… Children Now urges support of AB 711, a key step toward reducing one of the largest remaining sources of toxic lead in our children’s environment.” - Kelly Hardy, Senior Director of Health Policy, Children Now; Giannina Sophia Perez, Director of Early Learning and Development Policy, Children Now

"Lead is a toxicant that is bad for human health and the environment, and lead ammunition exposes humans and other animals to this life-threatening poison,” - AB 711 author Assemblymember Anthony Rendon

“The Centers for Disease Control and leading scientists from around the country agree that there is no safe level of lead exposure for humans. As a pediatrician, I am proud to coauthor AB 711 to phase out use of lead ammunition and reduce lead in our environment.” - Dr. Richard Pan, Chair of the Assembly Health Committee

“Lead-based ammunition is likely the greatest, largely unregulated source of lead knowingly discharged into the environment in the United States. In contrast, other significant sources of lead in the environment, such as leaded gasoline, lead-based paint, and lead-based solder, are recognized as harmful and have been significantly reduced or eliminated over the past 50 years.” - Report, published by the University of California: “Health Risks from Lead-Based Ammunition in the Environment - A Consensus Statement of Scientists”

Groups supporting AB 711 include: Audubon California (co-sponsor), Defenders of Wildlife (co-sponsor), The Humane Society of the United States (co-sponsor), as well as:

•           American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
•           (AFSCME), AFL-CIO
•           Action for Animals
•           Alameda Creek Alliance
•           Animal Welfare Institute
•           Born Free USA
•           California Coastal Protection Network
•           Californians for a Healthy and Green Economy (CHANGE)
•           Cape Wildlife Center
•           Center for Biological Diversity
•           Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation
•           Children Now
•           Clean Water Action
•           Defenders of Wildlife
•           Earth Island Institute
•           Eastern Sierra Wildlife Care
•           El Dorado Audubon Society
•           Endangered Habitats League
•           Environment California
•           Environmental Action Committee of West Marin
•           Environmental Defense Center
•           Environmental Protection Information Center
•           Environmental Working Group
•           Forests Forever
•           Friends of the Eel River
•           Friends of Five Creeks
•           Green Cities California
•           Helping our Peninsula's Environment
•           Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association
•           Injured and Orphaned Wildlife
•           Klamath Forest Alliance
•           Los Angeles Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
•           Los Padres Forest Watch
•           MOMS Advocating Sustainability
•           Natural Resources Defense Council
•           Northcoast Environmental Center
•           Northern California Council Federation of Fly Fishers
•           Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
•           Physicians for Social Responsibility, Los Angeles
•           Planning and Conservation League
•           Preserve Lamorinda Open Space
•           Project Coyote
•           Protecting Earth & Animals with Compassion and Education
•           Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, California
•           Public Interest Coalition
•           Rainforest Action Network
•           Raptors are the Solution
•           Regional Parks Association
•           Sacramento Audubon Society
•           Salmon Protection and Watershed Network
•           San Fernando Valley Audubon Society
•           Santa Clara County Activists for Animals
•           Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society
•           Santa Cruz Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
•           Save the Frogs
•           Sierra Club California
•           Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
•           Social Compassion in Legislation
•           Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
•           Stewards of the Earth
•           Strawberry Creek Watershed Council
•           Tehama Wild Care
•           The Paw Project
•           Tri-City Ecology Center
•           Turtle Island Restoration Network
•           Ventana Wilderness Alliance
•           Wild Equity Institute
•           Wildcare
•           Wildlife Rehabilitation & Release
•           Wintu Audubon Society

***And more than 100 licensed veterinarians