Regarding Animal Wellness Action Maine State Director Gina Garey’s letter (“Let’s get the lead out of Maine’s woods and waterways,” Dec. 13), the author uses biased, anti-hunting opinions and ignores sound science to praise an evidence-void decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ban traditional ammunition in Maine’s Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge.
A ban on traditional ammunition not only penalizes Maine hunters but would also be detrimental to the Pine Tree State’s successful wildlife management and conservation efforts. Alternative ammunition made of copper, tungsten, bismuth, steel and other alloys is significantly more expensive to produce and purchase than traditional ammunition. Removing lead shot as an ammunition choice will discourage hunters from purchasing Maine hunting licenses.
As for the health impacts, hunters have used traditional ammunition for centuries and studies have demonstrated no compelling data showing negative impacts on human health.
For wildlife populations, the science is also clear. America’s wildlife populations are healthier and more numerous today than ever before. The U.S. Department of the Interior announced bald eagle populations have quadrupled since 2009 and are reproducing successfully, including in Maine, despite centuries of widespread traditional ammunition use.
The firearm and ammunition industry has contributed more than $24 billion to conservation and wildlife management since 1937 and that’s the clear data. Dollar-shaming Maine’s hunters in the absence of any scientific evidence is counterproductive.
Lawrence G. Keane
Senior vice president for government and public affairs and general counsel
National Shooting Sports Foundation
Washington, D.C.
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