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Migratory Birds Regulations, amendment
(SOR/97-400,
OIC 1997-1109)
The amendment will broaden the prohibition against the
possession and use of any shot other than non-toxic shot
for the purpose of hunting migratory game birds, except
for the hunting of three species of migratory upland game
birds: woodcock, band-tailed pigeons and mourning doves,
starting in September.
The prohibition, aimed at lead shot in shotgun shells,
will cover hunting of the migratory birds in areas within
200 metres of any watercourse or water body effective
September 1, 1997 and throughout Canada on and after
September 1, 1999.
Lead shot has been prohibited for hunting most
migratory game birds in all National Wildlife Areas since
September, 1996. This process had began in 1990 with the
creation of a number of non-toxic shot zones for the
hunting of waterfowl, in cooperation with the provinces.
The proposal to extend the prohibition was
prepublished in the Canada Gazette, Part 1, on April 26,
1997 (see Regulatory Affairs, Vol. 3, No. 15,
April 26, 1997). Since then, a fourth type of non-toxic
shot (tungsten-polymer shot) has been added to the
regulations as an approved alternative to lead shot.
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Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, section
12
EC/9-10-L
To be published in Canada Gazette September 3, 1997
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Banning the use of lead shot will reduce the release
of lead into the environment by some 800 tonnes annually.
Lead ingestion by migratory birds and their predators has
been demonstrated to have serious harmful effects through
primary and secondary poisoning. Denmark and the
Netherlands have banned the use of lead shot for all
hunting; a number of other countries, including Finland,
Australia, Mexico, Sweden and Switzerland, have
established non-toxic zones; and the United States, which
shares its migratory birds with Canada, imposed a
nation-wide ban on the use of lead shot for waterfowl
hunting since 1991.
The most significant concern raised during the latest
round of consultations concerned the original proposed
implementation date of September 1997 for the Canada-wide
prohibition of the use of lead shot. A significant number
of provinces and hunting organizations said they thought
the lead shot ban was proceeding too rapidly. On the
other hand, some provinces and most environmental
non-governmental organizations supported the 1997
national ban.
As a result of the concerns, the national ban has been
deferred until September, 1999.
The "non-toxic" shots listed in the amended
Regulations (subsection 2(1)) are:
- bismuth shot (at least 96% bismuth, not more than
4% tin and not more than 1% of any other element);
- steel shot (at least 98% iron and not more than 1%
of any other element);
- tungsten-iron shot (at least 45% iron, not more
than 55% tungsten, and not more than 1% of any other
element); and
- tungsten polymer shot (at least 50% tungsten, not
more than 47% iron, not more than 47% bismuth, not
more than 4% tin, not more than 2% copper, not more
than 2% nickel, not more than 5% in aggregate of
polymerized trans alkenes and ionically-binding (cis)
polyvinyl resins, and not more than 1% of any other
element).
Contacts: Terry Mueller, Regulatory Analyst,
Program Analysis and Coordination, Canadian Wildlife
Service, Conservation and Protection, Environment Canada,
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0H3. Tel: 819-997-1272. Steve Wendt,
Chief, Migratory Bird Conservation, Canadian Wildlife
Service, Conservation and Protection, Environment Canada,
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0H3. Tel: 819-953-1422.
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