California has enacted a lead ammunition ban that will drive hunters out of the field and prove a detriment to the wildlife it was supposed to help.

On Oct. 13, over sportsmen’s objections, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB 821 to prohibit lead ammunition in the California condor’s range. Biologists contend the ingestion of lead from carcasses shot during hunting season is a threat to the endangered bird; however, outlawing the ammunition was a drastic and unnecessary step.

“The lead ban ignores sportsmen’s century-long track record as stewards of wildlife and denies them the chance to make a difference,” said Rob Sexton, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance vice president for government affairs. “It was a meat cleaver approach to a problem that could have been resolved by a regulation mandating that sportsmen dispose of animal carcasses after a hunt. Couple that requirement with an education campaign aimed at hunters and the state would not have put a quarter of its conservation funding at risk.”

Sportsmen pay the lions share for all conservation, including endangered species program, through license fees and tax dollars. That is $93 million in California. Unfortunately, it is estimated that as many as 25 percent of California hunters will walk away from the sport due to the high cost and limited availability of alternative ammunition. If hunter numbers decline, so will the funding source for wildlife programs, including condor recovery.