According to Governor Brown, there are numerous risks involved in the wildlife safety and health and the dangers are diverse.
The democrat from the South Gate Anthony Rendon has authored a bill that will ban lead based ammunition in all states in California and it was just recently signed and approved by Governor Jerry Brown. The bill was co-authored by Das Williams who is Santa Barbara’s Democratic Assembly member. The bill is considered to be a landmark legislation which aims to ban the use of lead based ammo that can endanger the health of the community members as well as the wildlife.
The bill is expected to be implemented by 2019 and the author of the bill has the objective of reducing the effects of lead to the health of wildlife considering that California is still on the process of recovering from lead poisoning since 2008. It also aims to eradicate its dangers to the human health as well. According to Governor Brown, there are numerous risks involved in the wildlife safety and health and the dangers are diverse. The state wants to provide a healthy ecosystem for all the California residents to enjoy and the bill will also complement other conservatory measures involved in preserving the wildlife heritage of the state.
The ban will likewise help protect hunters against exposure to lead poisoning as the majority of them are currently using lead based ammunition for hunting. There are about 247,000 registered hunters in California in 2012 and many of them are using lead based ammo for hunting as it is cheaper as compared to non-lead ammunition. With the bill underway to its passage to become a law, there is a possibility that non-lead based ammunition will likewise reduce in price to make it more affordable to hunters. Lead based ammo has been widely used across the states of California for many years and it was only until 1991, when the use of lead ammunition for hunting of waterfowl was banned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This opened the introduction for different types of ammunition that are lead free for caliber and rifles.
Lead is known to be hazardous to wildlife as animals that were shot with lead bullets can pass the hazardous chemical to another animal that consumes it. Through direct ingestion of the wounded or dead animals with lead shots, lead poisoning can be easily transmitted to another animal in the wildlife. Scientists considered lead as a metal that does not provide biological benefits and it is now eliminated in gasoline and pesticides.
The bill was an answer to the wide call of scientists, medical experts and public health advocates decrying the hazards of lead to the environment, wildlife and human health. The team released a statement questioning why lead based products are still allowed into circulation despite the known toxic effects of lead to people and wildlife. Gasoline, paints and even children’s toys are among the common sources of products with lead content and these were already banned. It is now time to call for the banning of lead based ammo to protect the wildlife as well as human lives that is known to cause paralysis, neurological damage and to a certain extent death among people and wildlife and the bill banning lead based ammo will help to somehow reduce the risks of lead in the wildlife environment.
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