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Conservation Groups Call on Arizona to Require Lead-free Ammunition to Protect Endangered Condors |
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PHOENIX, ARIZONA, Aug. 1 -/E-Wire/--
The Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Wildlands Council, and Arizona Zoological Society today requested that the Arizona Game and Fish Commission take immediate emergency action to prevent further lead poisonings of California condors in Arizona by amending state hunting regulations to require the use of non-lead ammunition.
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"The commission must act immediately to protect Arizona's magnificent condors from further lead poisonings and to safeguard public health," said Peter Galvin, conservation director of the Center for Biological Diversity. "If we want condors to survive, we must stop using ammunition that contaminates their food supply with toxic lead."
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Since the southwestern condor reintroduction program began in 1996, lead poisoning has been the leading cause of death for the Grand Canyon's condors. At least 12 Arizona condors have died of lead poisoning, and increasing numbers of the wild condor population must periodically receive emergency treatment for lead poisoning to save their lives. In 2006 95% of all Arizona condors had lead exposure and 70% of the Arizona population was chelated. There have been almost 100 potentially lethal lead poisonings of condors requiring emergency treatment since 1992. Condor experts have concluded that as long as lead ammunition is used in the condor range, recovery of the species is unlikely.
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"Condors, eagles and other birds of prey are a cherished part of the Grand Canyon experience and an important part of the ecosystem," said Kim Crumbo, conservation director of the Grand Canyon Wildlands Council. "Immediate conversion to non-lead ammunition is practical, affordable, and overdue."
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The science on lead ammunition as the source of lead poisoning condors is conclusive. Lead pellets and bullet fragments have been found in the digestive tracks of lead-poisoned condors, and condors have abrupt increases in blood-lead levels corresponding with feeding in deer-hunting areas on the Kaibab Plateau. In 2006, condor experts and toxicologists published a study titled "Ammunition is the Principal Source of Lead Accumulated by California Condors Re-Introduced to the Wild." Blood-lead levels of wild condors were tenfold higher than in captive-raised condors, and the lead isotope signature of commonly used ammunition exactly matched the isotope of the lead found in poisoned condors in California.
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"Lead is an extremely toxic substance that we have sensibly removed from most of our environment, including water pipes, gasoline, paint, and cooking utensils," said Sandy Bahr, conservation outreach director of the Sierra Club's Grand Canyon Chapter. "It only makes sense to remove it from bullets too."
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Ingestion of lead ammunition fragments also threatens other avian scavengers in Arizona such as bald and golden eagles. Lead ammunition also poses a human health risk, particularly to hunters that handle or inhale lead from ammunition, or eat meat from game tainted with lead ammunition fragments. In a recent study of deer killed by hunters, X-rays revealed that lead bullets exploded into dozens of tiny pieces, and half the deer carcasses were riddled with at least 100 lead fragments.
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"The Phoenix Zoo has treated more than 20 condors that ingested toxic lead, and we will continue to treat poisoned condors, but it should not be necessary," said Jeff Williamson, president of the Arizona Zoological Society. "Condors are a rare national treasure, and eliminating lead from their food source will help conserve these remarkable birds for future generations."
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More information about the lead poisoning threat can be found at www.savethecondors.org.
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Contact Info:
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Jeff Miller
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Center for Biological Diversity
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Tel : 510-499-9185
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Sandy Bahr
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Sierra Club Grand Canyon
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Tel : 602-253-8633
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Cell : 602-999-5790
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Kim Crumbo
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Grand Canyon Wildlands Council
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Tel : 928-638-2304
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Cell : 928-606-5850 Website : the Center for Biological Diversity
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