Earlier this year, Gov. Gerald “Jerry” Brown signed into law AB 711, banning lead in hunting ammunition. Lead is a known carcinogen and reproductive toxin, and is also harmful to the environment and wildlife. According to the Washington Post, there is little doubt that lead poisoning is the main cause of death and illness for the extremely endangered California condors.
When used in ammunition, lead breaks apart easily, leaving fragments behind in animals killed by hunters. When the carcasses are consumed by scavengers such as the California condor, the scavengers ingest the lead fragments.
Decades ago, the number of California condors in the wild numbered less than 25, but an aggressive captive breeding program has since raised the bird’s population by hundreds.
Lead is known to the State of California to cause cancer and reproductive harm, and under Proposition 65, companies offering products for sale in California that contain lead must provide the consumer with a health hazard warning. That means lead ammunition sold in California must be accompanied by a warning that the product contains lead.
The Chanler Group represents citizen enforcers who, acting in the public interest, commence actions against businesses offering products for sale in California that contain chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm without first providing the health hazard warning required by Proposition 65. Citizen enforcers bringing Proposition 65 actions in the public interest may obtain a Court Judgment imposing civil penalties, an injunction requiring reformulation of products, and/or provision of health hazard warnings. The Chanler Group has represented citizen enforcers of Proposition 65 for more than twenty years.
