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