Animal welfare groups petition feds to end lead ammo use on public lands

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is leading a dozen animal protection organizations in asking the federal government to prohibit the use of traditional ammunition on public lands. The petition calls upon the Department of the Interior to require the use of non-lead ammunition when discharging a firearm on the more than 160 million acres of federal lands managed by the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The groups contend that 10 to 20 million birds and other animals die from lead poisoning each year due to fragments left behind by traditional ammunition. The petition, signed by the HSUS, the Fund for Animals, Defenders of Wildlife, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and others, asks that the federal government mandate the use of non-lead ammunition for the taking of all species in areas managed by the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This would put one-fifth of the total land area of the United States off limits to hunters with traditional ammunition.  However, some contend that the HSUS-led petition is a creature of an altogether different breed. “The goal of the HSUS’s petition isn’t to ban hunting with traditional ammunition on public lands,” said Lawrence G. Keane, the senior vice president, assistant secretary and general counsel to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) in an interview with Guns.com. “Rather, the longstanding goal of the HSUS is to ban all hunting worldwide.” Keane explained, “The petition filed with the Department of the Interior, like the recently enacted total ban on hunting in California with traditional ammunition, are standard HSUS tactics to achieve their goal.” The NSSF has long held the HSUS publicly accountable, publishing what it calls the group’s “anti-hunting playbook” online, in addition to pointing out what the trade group contends are deceptive fundraising tactics...more