A report in the Minneapolis Star Tribune said a proposal to ban the use of lead shot by small-game hunters on public lands in Minnesota’s agricultural region has been shot down by the bill’s chief author.
Four days after meeting with officials from Federal Cartridge Corp. and the National Rifle Association — which opposed the restrictions — Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, DFL-Fridley, killed the provision.
The restriction, proposed by the DNR, would have been phased in beginning in 2011.
“I was led to believe this homework was done,” Chaudhary said in a news release. He also said the DNR needs to explore the economic impact. Federal in Anoka employs about 1,000 people, and more than one-fourth are directly related to the production and distribution of lead shot ammunition, Chaudhary said.
“We’re disappointed,” said Dave Schad, DNR fish and wildlife section chief. “We brought it forward because we thought there were good reasons for it.”
Twenty-three states, including South Dakota and Iowa, require nontoxic shot for upland game hunting on some or all state-managed lands.
Schad said he believes it’s just a matter of time before lead bullets and lead shot are banned.
“Lead is a toxin, and at some point we’re not going to be able to use it for these purposes,” he said.
