We knew going into the 2013 legislative session that a lot more people in Sacramento would be talking about the California Condor than usual. With the introduction of Assembly Bill 711 – which will require the use of nonlead ammunition for all hunting – Audubon California and our partners are taking on one of the state’s most intractable conservation issues, one for which the endangered Condor is the classic poster bird. But the reality is that that this legislation is about more than just the California Condor. And now that the bill has passed out of the State Legislature, and we await news from the Governor, I thought this would be a good time to talk about why Audubon California backs this bill.

Ancient Romans warned against drinking water from lead goblets and pipes, and a whole body of research in modern times has prompted us to ban the substance from gasoline, paint, plumbing and toys. The threat that lead poses to birds, other wildlife and people is well documented.

Scavenging birds such as the endangered California Condor ingest lead when they consume carcasses left behind by hunters that used lead ammunition. Other birds such as Golden Eagles and Mourning Doves also eat lead when they consume prey animals containing lead or just pick shot up off the ground. But just as lead left in the field can get into the wildlife food chain, it can also get into the food humans eat. When lead ammunition hits its target, it shatters into hundreds of pieces, some of them so small that it’s virtually impossible to clean out of the meat. A 2008 study from the Centers for Disease Control of hunters in North Dakota found that people who regularly ate meat hunted with lead ammunition had higher levels of lead in their bloodstream.

The bottom line for us is that lead is a poison that has no place in our environment. The time has come to do something about this persistent problem.

Thousands of hunters in California are already using nonlead ammunition – both for the safety of their families, and because it’s good for wildlife. In 1991, the federal government completed its phase-out of lead ammunition for waterfowl hunting, and more than 30 states have some restriction on lead that goes beyond that baseline.

Given the large number of alternative types of ammunition available, we don’t have to choose between recreation and wildlife conservation. It’s time for California to do the right thing.

We've been greatly pleased to so-sponsor this legislation with Defenders of Wildlife and the Humane Society of the United States. Both organizations have brought a lot of talent and expertise to bear. Moreover, I want to thank the bill's co-authors, Assemblyman Anthony Rendon and Assemblyman Richard Pan, for their terrific leadership on this important conservation issue.

Brigid McCormack is executive director of Audubon California.

(photo of California Condor by Gary Kramer/USFWS)