Bill Text: IL HR0398 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urges support for all efforts to restrict the use of lead shotshells to take wildlife.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-06-01 - Resolution Adopted 066-044-000 [HR0398 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-HR0398-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Lead is a potent neurotoxicant that is unsafe for
humans, wildlife, and the environment; lead ammunition
needlessly exposes humans and other animals to this
life-threatening poison; the Centers for Disease Control
states that there is no safe level of lead exposure; lead has
been removed from various paints, gasolines, pipes, and many
other items to protect human health and the environment; and
WHEREAS, Lead ammunition is a threat to wildlife; more than
130 species, including humans, have been exposed to or killed
by ingesting lead shot, bullet fragments, or prey contaminated
with spent lead ammunition; animals can fall victim to spent
lead ammunition through two avenues; primary poisoning occurs
when an animal ingests spent ammunition directly from the
environment, usually when foraging for food on the ground;
secondary poisoning occurs when an animal consumes wounded or
dead prey or scavenges gutpiles contaminated with lead
ammunition left behind by hunters; and
WHEREAS, Lead ammunition is toxic; a single ingested
shotgun pellet or bullet fragment is sufficient to cause brain
damage in birds, resulting in inhibition of critical
neuromuscular, auditory, and visual responses; lead poisoning
can induce lethargy, blindness, paralysis of lungs and the

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intestinal tract, various organ failure, seizure, and death in
wild animals; and
WHEREAS, The effects of spent lead ammunition are evident
in dove hunting; since doves are small and have an erratic
flight path, it often takes an average of five to eight shots
to hit the animal; according to the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service, an estimated 15-20 million mourning doves are
harvested annually; if every hunter is shooting with lead, this
would equate to roughly 5.2-7 million pounds of lead dispersed
into the environment every year; and
WHEREAS, Lead ammunition is a threat to human health; lead
is a potent neurotoxin, for which no safe level of exposure has
been identified; individuals who consume meat from animals
killed with lead ammunition are at risk for lead exposure;
several studies using x-ray imaging have shown that lead
ammunition is highly fragmentable and nearly impossible to
completely remove from meat; and
WHEREAS, Effective alternatives to lead ammunition are
widely available and effective; for shot, the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service has approved a dozen nontoxic shot
types; steel, copper, and bismuth are among the most common
non-lead materials and are readily available at major
outfitters; and

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WHEREAS, Ammunition regulations are effective; the
mandated use of non-toxic ammunition has proven to be an
extremely effective management approach to lead poisoning; in
1991, United States Fish and Wildlife Service required the use
of non-lead shot for the hunting of waterfowl nationwide;
within just six years, researchers found significant
improvements in the blood and bone lead levels in a variety of
waterfowl species; and
WHEREAS, Restrictions on ammunition are commonplace; 34
states have increased restrictions on lead ammunition beyond
the 1991 federal waterfowl regulation; as a result of its
success, the National Park Service announced in 2009 that they
would begin eliminating the use of lead ammunition; the United
States Army has invested resources and intelligence toward
creating and switching to non-toxic ammunition, citing
environmental and animal welfare concerns; and
WHEREAS, Scientists resoundingly agree that spent lead
ammunition poses a significant risk to human health and
wildlife; toxicologists, veterinarians, pathologists,
physicians, epidemiologists, biologists, and other experts
have advised against the use of lead in ammunition due to its
toxic effects; switching to non-lead ammunition is an easy way
to protect wildlife and people from the dangers of spent lead

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ammunition; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we urge the General Assembly to support all efforts to restrict
the use of lead shotshells to take wildlife.