Legislation to prohibit the use of lead ammunition in the taking of wildlife has been reported out of the New York Assembly Committee on Environmental Conservation.
Introduced by Assemblyman Deborah Glick, Assembly Bill 703 would prohibit the use of lead ammunition on “wildlife management areas, state forests, forest preserves, state parks or any other state-owned land that is open for hunting and on land contributing surface water to the New York city water supply.”
AB 703 specifically states that:
-Wildlife shall not be taken with the use of lead ammunition on 1) Wildlife Management Areas, State Forests, Forest Preserves, State Parks or any other state-owned land that is open for hunting; and 2) The land area contributing surface water to the New York City Water Supply.
-For purposes of [the legislation] “lead ammunition” shall mean any ammunition contains one or more percent of lead by weight.
If passed, the ban will take effect on January 1, 2021.
A decrease in the purchase of traditional ammunition has the potential to adversely affect conservation funding.
Hunters are the largest supporters of conservation through excise taxes levied on ammunition, firearms and hunting equipment by the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937, which has generated more than $12 billion in funding for wildlife conservation programs.
To monitor the progress of this bill, and other legislation important to hunters across the nation, sign up for SCI’s Hunters Advocacy Action Center today!
