NON-TOXIC OR LEAD AMMUNITION?
AN ISSUE THAT WILL AFFECT YOU!
This web page is
going to begin discussing the issue of less-toxic shot versus lead. If you
wish to view the old website about mourning doves and the process for getting a
dove season established in Iowa chick HERE . A companion
website has been developed at www.iowaoutdoorpartnership.com.
The Iowa Outdoor Partnership (IOP) is a group that grew out of
the Iowa Dove group. The IOP seeks to represent the interests of
Iowa's outdoorsmen and women who participate in the activities of hunting,
fishing and shooting. Some would like to impose restrictions on those
activities that are not science based and would tend to restrict
individuals from participating in these outdoor activities. One of
the restrictions now being debated is the proposed ban on lead ammunition for
hunting doves.
When the Natural
Resources Commission (NRC) made the final approval for the mourning dove season,
they blindsided all hunters when they added a requirement for non-toxic
shot. This was after the Iowa Legislature defeated amendments to the "dove
bill' that would have required non-toxic shot. When the final
rule went to the Legislative Adminstrative Rules Review Committee (ARRC), they
delayed the non-toxic shot
requirement from going into effect. The most recent development is that the Iowa Conservation Alliance
(ICA) is considering recommending that the state move toward requiring
non-toxic ammunition AND FISHING TACKLE for all hunting and fishing.
The ICA is an alliance of a number of conservation related organizations.
You can view their website by clicking www.iowaconservationalliance.com
. On the website you can view the 23 partners who
are members of the ICA. You can view the ICA's proposed
position statement by clicking HERE
. We believe this position statement is being promoted by ICA
leadership and does not represent the members of the various partner
organizations.
IOWADOVEHUNTER.INFO believes that game management should be driven by
fact based research and findings, not emotion. We believe there are no
findings that justify requiring the use of non-toxic ammunition in all circumstances.
Even though the Des Moines Register says it's
just not true, we believe the anti-hunting crowd is promoting non-toxic everything to
make hunting and fishing more expensive thereby reducing the number of
participants. If you agree you should go to the ICA website and
determine if you are a member of one of the partners and let your
organization know how you feel. Below is more information to support our
position.
One of the better reports
is by the Iowa Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. While their
report mainly addresses fisheries, it has good information that applies to
ammunition also. Read it by clicking HERE
.