Joe Waldron sent out an email with an alert from the NRA. Here are some important points (emphasis in original):
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has imposed a ban on the use of traditional ammunition for all upland bird hunting on all WDFW pheasant release sites across the state. This restriction was adopted by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission two years ago but its implementation was delayed until this hunting season. The Commission adopted the restriction during the course of its 2010-2012 hunting season-setting process.
With this in mind, it is critical that hunters and sportsmen participate in the 2012-2014 season-setting process, which is just getting underway. The WDFW will be hosting a series of public meetings next week to take comments from the public as the first step in the process. You can bet that the anti-hunting extremists will be represented at these meetings so the importance of hunters and sportsmen participating cannot be overstated!
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No scientific studies have been cited showing population-level impacts on any species. The WDFW seems to be acting on emotion and politics, citing the “potential” for problems associated with traditional ammunition as the basis for these far-reaching restrictions.
The NRA believes that the current push to ban the use of traditional ammunition in Washington is part of a new strategy being used by anti-hunting and anti-gun activists all over the country to attack our hunting traditions and firearm freedoms. Traditional ammunition bans have a significant chilling effect on hunting by pricing hunters out of the market while hunters’ ranks are already in decline. The opposition’s “next logical step” will be to propose a complete traditional ammunition ban throughout Washington. This is the pattern in other states so don’t think “it won’t happen here!”
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With that in mind, it is important for you to attend the WDFW meeting in your part of the state. The following meetings will run from 7:00-9:00 p.m.:
– August 22 – Federal Way Community Center (Alder & Birch rooms), 876 South 333rd St, Federal Way
– August 23 – Edison Place Event Center (Edison Room), 201 North Rock St, Centralia
– August 24 – The Lincoln Center (Monroe Ballroom), 1316 North Lincoln St, Spokane
– August 25 – Clarion Hotel & Conference Center (Selah Wapato rooms), 1507 North First St, YakimaIn addition to attending one of the above meetings, please comment on the issues at the WDFW’s hunting website. Your voice matters! Comments must be submitted by Tuesday, September 20.
It’s another case of policies being implemented by a theocratic government of the self-anointed.
Don’t think I can make any of the meetings; there’s a remote chance I could go to the Spokane one, but I’m already taking a bunch of time that week to take a pistol class. Sent in an e-comment, though; there was no specific category on the ammo ban, it was mostly about how to deal with bear, cougar, & turkey season issues. So I put in my $0.02 on those, then at the end it had space to add a comment of your own so I registered my complaint. We’ll see how much good it does. Federal regulations already mean that we can’t use traditional ammo to hunt in marshes/wetlands. For example, the ammo restrictions on Rice Bar & Willow Bar are not exactly news.
The claim on page 22 of the latest hunting rule pamphlet is that the lead pellets have had an adverse effect on some swans in NW Washington–if so, maybe it would be ok to limit/ban lead ammo in that area, where there actually “is” (I think “might be” is a more accurate statement, seeing as they do not cite an actual study) an issue, but that hardly seems to justify making it statewide. Even in that case, it seems from the way they worded their arguments that they are confusing target shooting, which over time will result in significant lead buildup in a fairly small area, with hunting, which would involve less lead distributed very thinly over a wide range.
Not to mention that this “non-toxic” shot often contains Sn, Bi, and W. I bet you can get heavy metal poisoning from ingesting too much of any of those, so I fail to understand how using it actually solves the problem. Steel shot, I could maybe see as a solution, although it can be hard on a barrel.
Simple solution: persuade the landowners who have previously allowed pheasant releases to refuse to do it. THAT will get the hunters involved to put the PETA filk in their proper place, with their laws lining birdcages.
Hmm, that’s a thought…