To put it in context, as of May 2014 California had 132 condors in the wild Arizona had 70. Experts with the condor recovery program believe that many of these dead and missing condors were likely killed or debilitated by lead poisoning.
Six other recent condor deaths are awaiting necropsy and 20 additional condors have gone missing and are dead of unknown causes in the Arizona/Utah region in this same time period. In Arizona 15 California condors have been confirmed killed by lead poisoning in that same time period. State game officials and experts with the condor recovery program believe that continued lead poisoning of condors in California is due to violations of state hunting laws by hunters and poaching, not due to any other potential source of lead. Necropsies are pending to determine the cause of death for two additional condors that died in California in 2013. In California 11 condors have been confirmed killed by lead poisoning since regulations requiring the use of nonlead hunting ammunition in the California range of the condor went into effect in the fall of 2008. The Department claims that California’s regulations requiring nonlead ammunition for hunting in the condor range have been ineffective and that Arizona’s program asking hunters to voluntarily use copper bullets or dispose of lead-tainted gut piles has been a success simply because, for the past two years, 88 percent of the hunters in Arizona’s condor range have participated in the program. The Department put out a press release this week stating that “ Arizona Game and Fish believes voluntary non-lead ammo program more effective than a regulated ban for endangered condors.” The Department is opposing efforts by conservation groups to have the Forest Service require use of nontoxic hunting ammunition on the Kaibab National Forest to prevent the continued lead poisoning of endangered condors. “There’s simply no justification for continuing to use ammunition that poisons the food supply for birds - and for people who eat game meat - when nonlead alternatives are readily available for all hunting activities.” “Anyone who suggests that the best gauge of success for protecting condors from lead poisoning is anything other than reducing the number of lead poisonings and condor deaths is not serious about preventing condor deaths,” said Jeff Miller with the Center for Biological Diversity. PHOENIX- As part of a campaign opposing limits on toxic lead ammunition in the Kaibab National Forest, the Arizona Department of Game and Fish is asserting that the best measure of efforts to protect California condors from lead ammunition is not the number of lead-related condor deaths but the percentage of hunters enrolled in a volunteer program to reduce exposure to lead bullets. No matter the challenges, it’s worth it to give our wildlife a fighting chance at survival.Arizona Game and Fish Department Tries to Spin Continued Condor Lead Poisonings Since AZGFD does not receive any general fund tax dollars, we rely on conservation heroes like you to help fund costs such as vehicle maintenance, new trailers, and catchment repairs and upkeep. It costs more than $1 million annually for the Arizona Game and Fish Department and our partners to deliver water to these sites every year, with some of the most remote areas requiring helicopters to reach them.
These stations provide life-saving hydration for all manner of wildlife all year long, from scurrying chipmunks to thirsty eagles to bugling elk. For our wildlife, this means less drinking water and a bigger fight for survival, especially during the dangerously hot and dry summer months.Īs part of our mission to conserve and protect wildlife, the Arizona Game and Fish Department maintains 3,000 wildlife waters, including manmade catchments, built in locations all around the state. Arizona is in a cycle of long-term drought.
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