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October 18, 2007
Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Bill to Protect Endangered California Condors
(Washington, D.C., October 13, 2007) California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
signed legislation today intended to protect the endangered California Condor.
There have been 276 documented cases of lead poisoning of California Condors
since 2000, and a dozen deaths possibly linked to lead. Only 127 of the birds
currently fly free in the wild, 70 of them in California.
California Condor, Arizona, Bright Angel, Grand Canyon 4th June 2005 © Marcus Lawson from Surfbirds Galleries
We very much appreciate that Gov. Schwarzenegger chose to do what’s right for
the California Condor by signing this bill into law,” said Dr. Michael Fry,
American Bird Conservancy’s Director of Conservation Advocacy. “Gov.
Schwarzenegger is very pro-hunting and pro-gun rights. His signing this bill
is a confirmation that this law is not anti-gun – it is an anti-lead measure.
Non-toxic, lead-free ammunition is widely available, and hunters are able to
obtain ammunition that will not poison condors if they eat bullet fragments
left in carcasses in the field.”
The California Senate and Assembly recently passed and now Gov. Schwarzenegger
has signed into law the Ridley-Tree Condor Preservation Act (Assembly Bill 821,
proposed by Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara), an historic protection measure for
the condors. The act mandates non-toxic bullets for big-game hunting in condor
habitat, and will significantly reduced the risk of lead poisoning of condors
in California.
Posted by Surfbirds at October 18, 2007 7:11 AM
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