Stop the NRA's Lead-poisoning Legislation

Toxic lead was taken out of paint and gasoline years ago, but lead from hunting ammunition still kills millions of birds and other wildlife every year. Lead poisoning is taking a terrible toll on bald eagles, loons, condors and even wolves, bears and panthers.

Now the National Rifle Association and its cronies in Congress are trying to stop us from protecting wildlife from lead poisoning. We need your help to make sure they don't get their way.

More than 100 groups have joined the Center for Biological Diversity in calling to eliminate lead hunting ammunition. Making this change will protect millions of animals from suffering painful poisoning and even death.

Predictably, the NRA is trying to roll back laws that could protect our wildlife from this poisoning epidemic even though effective, nontoxic alternatives are widely available and can be comparable in price to lead.

Sign our petition to stop the NRA's cruel and misguided Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012.
Dear [Decision Maker],

I urge you to oppose the misguided, anti-wildlife Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012 (House Bill 4089). This bill, promoted by gun groups, ignores sound science and would perpetuate the lead poisoning of wildlife such as bald eagles, condors, loons and swans. The bill would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing federal regulations intended to protect wildlife and people from preventable lead poisoning.

Although lead poisoning has been reduced by removing lead from paint and gasoline, each year tens of thousands of tons of lead are shot into the environment and a half-million lead fishing sinkers are lost or abandoned in U.S. waters. When this lead enters the food chain it takes a deadly toll on wildlife. Bald eagles, peregrine falcons, loons, condors, herons and doves die incredibly painful lead-poisoning deaths, and wolves, bears and panthers are also poisoned.

There's simply no reason to continue to use toxic lead materials for hunting or fishing. Effective, nontoxic bullets, shot and fishing weights are widely available and in many cases comparable in price to lead.

The bill intends to strip the EPA's authority to regulate toxic lead in ammunition and fishing gear under the Toxic Substances Control Act. This legislation shows callous disregard for the health of low-income venison donation, 10 million hunters and their families who remain at risk of lead poisoning. It also ignores the mountain of scientific evidence that lead ammunition and fishing tackle are the major sources of lead poisoning in more than 130 animal species.

Please oppose this bill and allow the EPA to keep the regulatory tools it needs to prevent the annual deaths of millions of wild animals and to protect public health.
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