For Immediate UseContact: Garrison Frost
August 27, 2007(323) 951-9620

Sacramento, CA-- Glenn Olson, Executive Director of Audubon California today issued the following statement at the conclusion of the California Fish and Game Commission’s special meeting on lead ammunition and the California Condor:

“I would like to thank the California Fish and Game Commission for taking the time today to discuss the science surrounding the issue of lead ammunition in the territory occupied by condors. This is an extremely important issue and has far reaching implications not only for condors but also for other rare and endangered species. I hope that each commissioner found today’s hearing informative and will seriously consider taking action at the next commission meeting to ban this toxic and unnecessary substance in condor habitat areas.”

Background:

In the mid-1980s condors teetered on the brink of extinction largely due to lead poisoning, but thanks to the efforts of a broad coalition of scientists, conservationists and average citizens today there are over 270 free flying and captive California Condors. However, the condors are far from safe.

Condors are scavengers by nature whose primary source of food are the remains of other animals. When hunters use lead-based ammunition it leaves hundreds of fragments in the animal’s carcass that slowly poison the condor, often resulting in death. When condors present with elevated blood lead levels they must undergo a long, expensive and painful process of detoxifying their blood that is both unnatural and extremely invasive.

Recently, a coalition of 44 well-respected biologists signed a “Statement of Scientific Agreement” that lead ammunition is the only documented source that could cause lead exposure at the levels seen in wild condors. Banning lead ammunition will have little or no impact on hunters and sportsmen as there are bullets made of non-toxic substances that are only marginally more expensive than their lead counterparts.

About Audubon California

Audubon California is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them. With more than 50,000 members in California and an affiliated 48 local Audubon chapters, Audubon California is a field program of Audubon. This relationship links Audubon California to a national network of community-based nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engaging millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in conservation.

More information is available at www.ca.audubon.org.