So much for sober-minded consultation, careful study of the data, and thoughtful analysis from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists and other experts on his staff. Before the chair in his office was even warm, and just after he dismounted from his horse, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke undid a director’s order to phase out the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle over the next five years on more than 150 million acres of National Wildlife Refuges and other agency lands and waterways. The nullified policy had a simple and good purpose: it was designed to stop the needless, incidental poisoning of millions of wild animals each year by lead that’s left behind in the routine pursuit of these field sports.
As the primary wildlife manager of tens of millions of acres of federal lands, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has a statutory duty to act to protect and conserve wildlife, and that’s what it did by establishing the policy after careful deliberation last year. What Zinke ignored is that less toxic forms of ammunition are field-tested, cost-competitive, and readily available in the marketplace. Leaders of hunting groups huddled around him for his first official action, cheering on an action inimical to the imperatives of conservation and wildlife enhancement.
The NRA and the same crowd of hunting lobbying groups stamped their feet a quarter century ago when George H.W. Bush’s Fish and Wildlife Service banned the use of lead ammunition for hunting waterfowl. President Bush, himself a hunter, showed his true commitment to conservation, even as detractors portended the demise of waterfowl sports.
History has proved them wrong – badly and unmistakably wrong. Waterfowl hunting has continued unabated, but just without the collateral poisoning of so many birds and other creatures.
As the primary wildlife manager of tens of millions of acres of federal lands, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has a statutory duty to act to protect and conserve wildlife, and that’s what it did by establishing the policy after careful deliberation last year. What Zinke ignored is that less toxic forms of ammunition are field-tested, cost-competitive, and readily available in the marketplace. Leaders of hunting groups huddled around him for his first official action, cheering on an action inimical to the imperatives of conservation and wildlife enhancement.
The NRA and the same crowd of hunting lobbying groups stamped their feet a quarter century ago when George H.W. Bush’s Fish and Wildlife Service banned the use of lead ammunition for hunting waterfowl. President Bush, himself a hunter, showed his true commitment to conservation, even as detractors portended the demise of waterfowl sports.
History has proved them wrong – badly and unmistakably wrong. Waterfowl hunting has continued unabated, but just without the collateral poisoning of so many birds and other creatures.
Read More: http://blog.humanesociety.org/wayne/2017/03/trumps-interior-secretary-reverses-ban-lead-ammo-national-wildlife-refuges-first-official-act.html
Related Article: Frame the Gun Debate with Facts
No comments:
Post a Comment