What are the consequences of a ban on lead ammunition?
Restrictions or bans on the use of lead ammunition may ultimately drive people out of hunting. Non-lead ammunition can cost double what lead ammunition costs, and availability is much more limited. Reducing the number of hunters reduces the income generated by the sale of hunting licenses (the major source of funding for game and fish departments), has a negative impact on wildlife management, and imposes economic losses on hunting-related businesses. In Minnesota alone in 2006, hunting-related retail sales totaled $637,270,173. Minnesota hunters also generated $75,882,194 in state taxes, plus $86,158,974 in federal tax revenues. In 2008, the first hunting season after California imposed a ban on lead ammunition in the state’s condor range, hunting license sales fell significantly after three years of steady gains. In the affected regions, the number of deer hunters dropped nearly 5 percent and hog hunters dropped 15 percent—costing the California Department of Fish and Game more than
