By M.S. Enkoji, McClatchy Newspapers, Posted on Fri, Apr. 13, 2007
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - When hunters leave behind the entrails of animals they kill, chances are growing that a California condor is ready to swoop in for dinner.
Once endangered, the winged scavenger's dining habits is threatening them again with lead poisoning - from embedded bullet fragments and shot pellets, according to scientists and environmentalists.
The Center for Biological Diversity is suing the state Fish and Game Commission in a federal lawsuit, asking the commission to immediately ban lead ammunition in sensitive Condor areas and eventually, throughout the state.
"It's an extremely toxic element. It doesn't take a lot of lead to affect you," said Jeff Miller, a San Francisco representative of the national wildlife conservation group. "There's no controversy about this: At least ten to 15 condors have died since 1992 of lead poisoning."
The Fish and Game Commission opened a hearing Friday on the debate, which will continue at the next meeting on June 7.
The state Department of Fish and Game has proposed to the commission several alternatives, ranging from a statewide ban to no ban, but is recommending banning lead bullets and shot in condor-sensitive locations.
Those areas generally encompass seven counties in southern and central California where condors range in the foothills and mountains, the same areas where hunters pursue deer and other game.
The number of condors, once fewer than two dozen, has surged again through intensive conservation efforts to 289 in the southwest, 136 in the wild.
Research varies on the number of condor deaths, and other scavanger animals – including Bald Eagles – who have died because of lead bullets or shot.
A report ordered for the fish and game department through the University of California, Davis, concludes that lead in ammunition could be contributing to higher concentrations of lead measured in condors. But the report stops short of linking lead bullets to any condor deaths, said Steve Martarano, a department spokesman.
A federal ban on lead shot for hunting birds in wetlands already protects marine life.
Some hunting interests, including the National Shooting Sports Foundation, oppose any ban on lead bullets because alternatives are less effective, more expensive and less available.
They also challenge any scientific evidence linking lead ammunition with widespread condor deaths, saying a ban of any kind will drive hunters - and their business - from the state.
"We need further scientific research before a drastic measure like this is considered," said Ted Novin, a spokesman for the Massachussetts organization that represents the firearms trade industry organization.
Voluntary measures backed with an education campaign would be more effective than any ban, which might not be easily enforced, Novin said.
A 2006 surey commissioned by the group found that only 16 percent of hunters support a ban, he said. Of the hunters who use traditional ammunition, 75 percent oppose a switch, he said.
Most hunters, he said, prefer alternative solutions, such as burying discarded carcasses.
Hunters are divided over the department's proposal and the lawsuit.
Project Gutpile, or Projectgutpile.org, a conglomeration of scientists, hunters and anglers, has been pushing for several years to ban lead ammunition and fishing tackle because of what they say is widespread evidence of the dangers of lead residue - possibly even for humans.
Some hunters believe a ban will somehow infringe on their opportunities, said Anthony Prieto, a co-founder of Gutpile.
"It's not going to happen," said Prieto, a hunter who lives in Santa Barbara. "There is no way I would have anything to do with cutting off hunting privileges."
Convinced about the effects 10 years ago, he switched to non-lead bullets and believes they are effective, if not superior to lead ones.
Then, alternative ammunition was difficult to find, but it's readily available now online and the cost difference - $2-$3 more for a $15 box - is hardly prohibitive, Prieto said.
A widespread campaign for a voluntary switch would gain the best compliance among hunters, said Jim Matthews, the editor and publisher of California Hog Hunter and California Bucks newsletters.
"A ban is unenforceable and it disenfranchises the best conservationists in the country," he said.
Correctly educated, most hunters could be persuaded to use alternative ammunition where there is a danger of poisoning, he said.
"It's more than condors. It's an issue for golden eagles and other animals, coyotes, a lot of animals that can be affected," he said.
Commissioners on Friday asked for more information for the June meeting and did not indicate when they would make a decision on the ban.
One commissioner, R. Judd Hanna, said he would like to hear more about the department's efforts to reach hunters.
"The hunters are the ones who need to lead on this," he said.
