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Condor Scientists Urge Ban on Lead Ammunition

Scientists are urging California's Fish and Game Commission to ban lead ammunition to protect California condors. KPBS reporter Ed Joyce has the story.

Condor Scientists Urge Ban on Lead Ammunition

Scientists are urging California's Fish and Game Commission to ban lead ammunition to protect California condors. KPBS reporter Ed Joyce has the story.

The group of scientists say the lead is poisoning the condor, threatening its survival. Graham Chisholm is with Audubon California. He says the lead is showing up in condor's blood.

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Chisolm : And the way this occurs is that condors are scavengers, like vultures, they feed on carcasses. And often when a hunter field dresses a deer they leave behind the gut pile as it's called. And in that gut pile are lead fragments.

Several groups want the lead ammunition banned from use in areas where the condors thrive. They say non-lead alternatives are available for big game hunters. The Fish and Game Department is taking testimony on the proposal at its meeting tomorrow.

Ed Joyce, KPBS News.