For the second time in six years, a battle is unfolding in the
California Legislature over the question of whether hunters should be
prohibited from using traditional, lead ammunition and be required
instead to shoot at deer and other game animals with bullets made of
less toxic metals such as copper.
In 2007, proponents of a
lead-ammunition ban prevailed with the passage of a bill by former
Assemblyman Pedro Nava that barred the use of lead bullets when hunting
in the known range of the California condor, an imperiled species that
in the wild is prone to lead poisoning.
Since July 1, 2008,
hunters also have been barred from using lead ammunition in a large
swath of the state that includes the coastal mountain range and covers
all of Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
This
time, the stakes are larger. Legislation (AB 711) already approved by
the Assembly and awaiting action in the Senate, would extend the ban to
cover the entire state. If the bill becomes law, California would become
the first state to bar lead ammunition in hunting. It would continue to
be legal to use lead bullets at shooting ranges.
The proposal has
touched off a spirited debate that pits environmental and animal rights
groups on one side, the firearms industry and sportsmen's groups on the
other, and individual hunters on both sides of the issue..
