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