New ban on .22 ammunition
Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 12:58 am
(More) Bad news from Kalifornia...
http://progunfilipino.20.forumer.com/vi ... =3215#3215Joel wrote:http://venturacountystar.com/news/2007/ ... mmunition/
This is bad news! You can be in trouble for simply being in possesion of 22lr ammo in Condor protected area! The lead ammo ban has just opened up the floodgates.... Only a matter of time before the ban gets broadend to include all of California! The bad this is that there is not even a 22lr alternative....New ban on .22 ammunition
Anti-lead rules designed to protect condors
By Timm Herdt (Contact) Saturday, December 8, 2007
New rules on .22-caliber ammunition will apply only to areas where the endangered California condor roams, including the Big Sur area, above.
SACRAMENTO — California hunting regulators Friday broadened a prohibition on lead bullets scheduled to take effect July 1, adding .22-caliber ammunition to the ban.
The new rules will apply only in those areas where the endangered California condor roams — generally, the coastal mountains from Monterey south to Ventura County and in the southern Sierra.
The action by the Fish and Game Commission follows enactment of a landmark law signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this fall that bans the use of lead ammunition by deer hunters in the affected areas.
Lead poisoning is the leading cause of sickness and death among condors in the wild, and condor researchers say bullet fragments in the carcasses of fallen animals are the principal source of the poisoning.
Conservationists praised the regulations, adopted on a 3-1 vote.
"This is another victory for the California condor," said Graham Chisolm of Audubon California. "The commission took the right steps to ensure that the new law is implemented in a way that makes the most sense for both the condor and hunters."
"These regulations go above and beyond the scope of the law," said Pamela Flick, state program director for Defenders of Wildlife.
She noted that the law would have provided an exemption for .22-caliber ammunition, which is typically used to shoot non-game animals such as ground squirrels and black crows. Alternatives to lead ammunition for .22-caliber rifles is not yet commercially available.
Adrianna Shea, the commission's deputy executive director, said commissioners hope their action will spur manufacturers to produce nonlead alternatives. Copper bullets are already available for larger caliber rifles that are typically used for deer hunting.
She noted the dissenting vote of Commissioner Jim Kellogg was based solely on his objection to including .22-caliber ammunition in the ban.
Shea said the commission's action was independent from the law, and Friday's vote simply completed a regulatory process the commission initiated months ago.
The regulations also go one step beyond the law by banning not just the use but also the possession of lead ammunition in the affected areas. That distinction, she noted, will make it easier for wardens to enforce the ban.
Schwarzenegger in October signed AB 821 by Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, over the objections of firearms manufacturers and gun-owner groups, including the National Rifle Association.
