They told us California Condors were getting lead poisoning from lead bullets, so, on flimsy evidence, California banned them for hunting. Now California Condors are still showing up with lead poisoning, and they are blaming adjacent states who don’t have the law. To me this is evidence that the poisoning is from other sources, but for the Center for Banning Ammunition, it’s just more evidence that we need a comprehensive ban.
Personally, I don’t give a flying rat’s behind about the California Condor, and I’ve questioned whether we’re just delaying the inevitable. So I guess I’m not much of a conservationist. The worst we can do to life on this planet is destroy ourselves. Life will continue no matter what we do. Given that we’re very good at self-destruction, I’m not about to get very worked up over any particular method we may use to accomplish it. Either way, we’ll survive just fine without California Condors, and so will most everything else. The only reason to keep them around is human vanity and selfishness. Mother Gaia could care less whether they live or die, and the same could be said for us.
UPDATE: I forgot that I had a post that shows the California Condor’s range. Notice anything about the central California population? They might not know borders, but something about them make them like California.
“Personally, I don’t give a flying rat’s behind about the California Condor”
AMEN.
I never have believed the lead poisoning myth, since it lacks proof. We don’t have condors here in Utah, but we do have vultures and coyotes, and I have yet to hear of them having problems with lead poisoning from hunting. I think it’s all just anti-hunting propaganda, myself. After all, look what state we’re talking about.
“There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience.
And then there is California.”
-Edward Abbey
They will kill the condors themselves if it serves their “greater” purpose, they should really be known as “The Center for Ideological Purity” – nothing to do with diversity of opinion there.
Here I have to disagree with you. The California Condor is a marvelous creature. To see such in flight with it’s enormous wingspan is a thing to behold.
That said, I agree that having the poor struggling dude be used for political gain is crap. It’s like Global Warming – suddenly all other environmentalism has gone the wayside. The only thing that matters is a questionable model that earns lots of $$$$$$$$ for select people.
Meanwhile, toxins are dumped, our natural lands plowed down into parking lots. Etc.
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I’d love to save these birds. But I don’t think it’s the lead pellets that are the real cause.
Looking at the map, what do you see? A small range around Tijuana? Must be that all of those machine guns bought at gun shows without so much as an ID check are killing the condors with extra-leady ammo bought from racist militia types who are in league with the Mexican drug cartels. Further reason to ban ammunition (all ammunition, as we will find undue amounts of copper in the condor after lead has been expurgated) and all guns to save the majestic vulture and stop the violence in Mexico, which is the fault of the NRA and American gun owners.
Ever been to Tijuana? Nothing that goes near Tijuana leaves the place healthy. Not people, not donkeys and not condors.
It probably would not be a good thing to lose the Ca;ifornia Condor (or “biggest dang buzzard around”). But if they insist on keeping those mines open so they can swallow lead ore, well…
So is California once again going to close its borders with the rest of the country and establish checkpoints? It has been done before, whether to keep out “Okies” during the Dust Bowl years or to seize plants (and parts of same, such as pears) that could harbor disease/bugs/etc…
Its 100% bullshit, they want to ban lead bullets as poisonous, and then ban monolithic ammo and frangible ammo as “Armor Piercing”
Since Gun Bans are “Off the Table” (or so the Brady’s lie) they’ll simply make it 100% impossible to own ammunition. Then maybe after a few generations of an America filled with guns nobody uses they’ll work to repeal the 2nd Amendment and get to the real problem…knife violence.
Also if their 100% ammo ban fails they’ll at least make target shooting an elite sport for the rich, much like it is in much of Europe.