LEAD AMMO FLANKING ACTION

Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) is joining with
conservation groups to sue the California Fish and Game Commission
for allowing hunters to use lead bullets. The lawsuit comes in the
wake of legislation defeated earlier this year that sought to ban
lead ammo in order to protect the California condor. The endangered
giant vultures ingest bullets when feeding on carcasses of
squirrels and other target-practice creatures left behind by
hunters. PSR is focusing on the health of hunters and their
families, pointing to the documented dangers of lead, which has
been shown to cause brain damage and other serious health problems,
and the presence of lead residue in the meat of game shot with lead
bullets. Most hunters nonetheless favor lead bullets because they
are cheap and effective. The Natural Resources Defense Council, the
Center for Biological Diversity, and the Wishtoyo Foundation (a
Chumash environmental group) also joined the suit against the
commission.