OFFICIALS: HUNTERS EMBRACING LEAD-FREE BULLETS TO HELP CONDORS

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By SONU MUNSHI
Cronkite News Service

PHOENIX (Wednesday, Nov. 14) _ Eighty percent of hunters with big game permits in the California condor’s range report taking part in the state’s efforts to save the condors from lead poisoning, officials said Wednesday.

The large number of hunters who are taking advantage of free non-lead ammunition or removing deer carcasses that might have lead fragments shows that the state’s program is on track, the Arizona Game and Fish Department announced.

“The hunters are proving this year that voluntary efforts are working strong,” said Kathy Sullivan, condor program coordinator for Game and Fish. “We want folks to know it’s working.”

Several groups have called on the state to ban lead ammunition to protect the condors, which often develop lead poisoning by eating fragments in deer entrails left in the wild. At least 12 condors have died of lead poisoning since the species was reintroduced in Arizona in 1996.

State officials say the voluntary program deserves a chance to work. With money from the Arizona Lottery and proceeds from American Indian gaming, Game and Fish offers hunters in condor territory coupons for non-lead ammunition along with information about the dangers lead poses to condors.

In 2006, 60 percent of hunters reported taking part in the program, up from 50 percent in 2005.

About 1,500 hunters drew tags for hunting in condor territory in northern Arizona between October and December. Of those, about 1,000 have finished hunting and reported whether they participated in the program. The final results will be available in January.

Sandy Bahr, conservation outreach director with the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon chapter, one of four groups that sent a letter urging the Arizona Game and Fish Commission to ban lead ammunition, said the true measure of success will be how many condors are poisoned by lead.

“We’re very supportive of the education program. But we still think that Arizona needs to ban lead ammunition,” Bahr said.

The other groups seeking a ban are the Grand Canyon Wildlands Council, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Arizona Zoological Society. The groups have yet to hear back from state officials.

Kim Crumbo, conservation director with the Grand Canyon Wildlands Council, said the 80 percent figure is great news, but he called the voluntary program a “chancy gamble.”

“They just need to eliminate that toxin from the environment completely,” Crumbo said.
Sullivan defended the voluntary program.

“If you push a ban on a group that doesn’t favor a ban, do you think you’re going to get 100 percent compliance? Do you think 100 percent of drivers wear seat belts?” Sullivan said.

Bob Broscheid, assistant director of Game and Fish’s Wildlife Management Division, said one challenge facing the program is that non-lead ammunition isn’t available in all calibers. He said Game and Fish is addressing that issue with manufacturers.

Field tests last fall showed that 95 percent of Arizona’s condors were exposed to lead and 70 percent required treatment. At least four condors died of lead poisoning in 2006, according to the Peregrine Fund, which monitors the condors in Arizona.

There are 59 California condors in the state. Twenty-two condors remained in 1982. Captive breeding programs have brought their numbers back to about 300 overall.

California recently enacted a law requiring non-lead ammunition for hunting big game and coyotes in the condor’s range.

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Web Links:

_ Arizona Game and Fish Department: www.azgfd.gov
_ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: www.fws.gov

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CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-CONDORS-LEAD: California condor No. 350 is shown in 2004 after it fledged at Grand Canyon National Park. State officials say 80 percent of hunters with permits for big game in the condor’s range are taking advantage of a program offering lead-free ammunition to help prevent the condors from contracting lead poisoning. Several wildlife groups want Arizona to ban lead ammunition to help protect the condors, which can pick up the toxic metal from piles of animal entrails left in the wilderness by hunters. (Photo Credit: Chad Olson, National Park Service, via Cronkite News Service)