WHY THE US AND CANADA ARENT ADOPTING NONTOXIC SHOT AND FISHING SINKERS

Lend poisoning of migratory waterbirds from spent lend shot and lost l end fishing weights occurs commonly throughout the United States and C anada. Nontoxic substitutes for these products are available but are n ot required widely beyond the mandatory use in waterfowl hunting in th e United States. That country banned the use of lend shot waterfowling in 1991 and is proposing a national ban on the manufacture and trade in lead fishing weights. Canada has not reciprocated with parallel req uirements, despite its being a signatory to the 1916 Migratory Bird Tr eaty between the United States and Canada, designed to protect migrato ry birds throughout their annual North American range. Lend-free shot is required for waterfowling in only a few small zones across Canada. In Canada, both federal and provincial regulations could be used to ef fect bans on the rise of lead shot and sinkers. However, the current p olicy of the Canadian government is to move with the provinces on this issue rather than impose a national standard. In both countries there is opposition to the use of nontoxic materials by some sporting organ izations and some state/provincial agencies. There is reluctance to im plement the precautionary principle and apply established prudent cour ses of action to resolve these wildlife issues. A wide array of intern ational conventions and national legislation exists to regulate the us e of nontoxic shot and sinkers in North America. In addition, environm ental regulations tender the North American Free Trade Agreement and t he terms of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation could be applied at the commercial level to prevent further environmen tal contamination and lend poisoning of waterbirds.