The Montana State Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission is considering a possible ban on lead ammunition.  The recent discovery of lead in the blood of the state’s bald eagle population has called into question the safety of lead ammunition, especially given its known effects on human and wildlife health.  Many supporters of lead ammunition, such as the Montana Shooting Sports Association and National Rifle Association are characterizing the call to ban lead as an attack on hunting and the right to bear arms. However, The Wildife Society (TWS), a professional and scientific society that strongly supports legal and ethical hunting has also called for an eventual phasing out of lead ammunition, based on the results of a detailed technical review on the known effects of lead on wildlife and humans.  TWS believes that some aspects of modern hunting are in opposition to the (Aldo) Leopoldian traditions of fair chase and ecological compatability, and need to be challenged if the important tradition is to persist in our society.

Michael Hutchins Environmental toxicants, Human Dimensions of Wildlife Management and Conservation, hunting, wildlife conservation