[BCNnet] EPA Rejects Ban on Toxic Lead Fishing Gear

[Donnie Dann]

BCNnet friends,

 

Here is some regrettable news on bird conservation, but important to know.

 

Donnie Dann

Highland Park/Lake County

donniebird at yahoo.com

 

 

EPA Rejects Ban on Toxic Lead Fishing Gear

Agency Refuses to Address Preventable Poisoning That Kills Millions of
Birds, Wildlife Every Year

 

WASHINGTON- Ignoring long-established science on the dangers of lead
poisoning in the wild, the Environmental Protection Agency today denied a
petition to ban toxic lead fishing sinkers that frequently kill loons,
swans, cranes and other wildlife. A coalition of conservation, hunting and
veterinary groups had petitioned EPA in August to ban lead in fishing tackle
and in bullets and shot for hunting. The agency issued a partial denial of
the portion of the petition dealing with regulation of lead ammunition in
September and has now issued its final determination which also denies the
portion of the petition on fishing sinkers.

 

Spent lead from ammunition and lost fishing tackle needlessly poisons, kills
and harms millions of wild birds and other animals every year and endangers
public health.

 

"Under the Obama administration, the EPA seems to have lost its will to
regulate toxic substances, even in the face of overwhelming scientific
information about the harm to wildlife and threats to human health," said
Michael Fry, director of conservation advocacy at the American Bird
Conservancy.

 

"The EPA's failure to act is inexcusable, given what we know about how toxic
lead is to wildlife and the extensive science linking lead poisoning in
wildlife to ammunition and fishing weights," said Jeff Miller, conservation
advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity. "There are plenty of safe
and available alternatives to lead products for these outdoor sports, so
there's no good reason for this poisoning to continue."

 

In August the Center for Biological Diversity, American Bird Conservancy and
other groups formally petitioned the EPA under the Toxic Substances Control
Act to ban lead in bullets and shot for hunting, as well as lead in fishing
tackle. The petition referenced nearly 500 peer-reviewed scientific papers
illustrating the widespread dangers of lead poisoning form these sources.
More than 70 organizations in 27 states are supporting the lead ban,
including groups representing birders, hunters, zoologists, scientists,
American Indians, physicians, veterinarians and public employees. Cranes,
ducks, swans, loons, geese and other waterfowl ingest lead fishing sinkers
lost in lakes and rivers, mistaking them for food or grit, and thousands are
poisoned each year.

 

"The EPA has the clear authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act to
regulate lead in any way it sees fit and it is not up to the petitioners to
formulate the 'least burdensome' regulation," said Fry. "The scientific data
in the petition demonstrated the need for regulation to prevent poisoning of
wildlife, and it is up to the EPA to formulate the proper regulations."

 

Ironically, the EPA declared last week "National Lead Poisoning Prevention
Week" to raise awareness about the dangers of lead exposure to humans. Major
efforts to control lead in paint, gasoline and other products have reduced
lead in the environment, but spent lead from hunting and fishing is still a
widespread wildlife killer.

 

"We don't need public relations stunts like 'Lead Poisoning Prevention Week'
from the nation's Environmental Protection Agency; we must have substantive
action to prevent the known, widespread, unnecessary and ongoing lead
poisoning of bald eagles, condors, loons and other wildlife cherished by all
Americans," said Miller. "The agency has attempted to punt on this issue,
but we're not going to let it walk away from taking action on the
preventable poisoning of birds and other animals."

 

Lead is an extremely toxic substance that is dangerous to people and
wildlife even at low levels. Exposure can cause a range of health effects,
from acute poisoning and death to long-term problems such as reduced
reproduction, inhibition of growth and damage to neurological development.
Wildlife is poisoned when animals scavenge on carcasses shot and
contaminated with lead-bullet fragments or pick up and eat spent lead-shot
pellets or lost fishing weights, mistaking them for food or grit. Animals
can die a painful death from lead poisoning or suffer for years from its
debilitating effects. 

 

An estimated 10 million to 20 million birds and other animals die each year
from lead poisoning in the United States.

 

For more information, read about the Center's
<http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/get_the_lead_out/index.html>
Get the Lead Out campaign.

 

The Center for Biological Diversity (www.biologicaldiversity.org) is a
national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 315,000 members
and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and
wild places.

 

American Bird Conservancy ( <http://www.abcbirds.org/> www.abcbirds.org)
conserves native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas by
safeguarding the rarest species, conserving and restoring habitats, and
reducing threats while building capacity of the bird conservation movement.

 

***************************************

 

 

Jeff Miller

Conservation Advocate

Center for Biological Diversity

351 California Street, Suite 600

San Francisco, CA 94104

Phone: (415) 436-9682 x303

Fax: (415) 436-9683

Web site: www.biologicaldiversity.org
<file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\jmiller\Application%20Data\Microsoft\
Signatures\www.biologicaldiversity.org> 

 

At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human
beings is deeply linked to nature - to the existence in our world of a vast
diversity of wild plants and animals.  Because diversity has intrinsic
value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future
for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do
so through science, law, and creative media, with a focus on protecting the
lands, waters, and climate that species need to survive.  We want those who
come after us to inherit a world where the wild is still alive.

 

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