found that more than 99% of 570 scientific articles about environmental and health consequences of lead in ammunition raised concerns about lead toxicity. 8, 9 A 2013 consensus statement of experts in human, environmental, and wildlife toxicology supports reducing and eventually eliminating the introduction of lead into the environment from lead-based ammunition, emphasizing that shooting lead ammunition into the environment poses significant risks of lead exposure to humans and wildlife. Lead-contaminated hunted meat has been identified as the most poorly acknowledged and addressed example of food lead contamination, and scientists have called for this source of lead exposure to be acknowledged and addressed with health-protective measures. A strong body of scientific research demonstrates that lead-based ammunition frequently contaminates hunted meat and increases BLLs of humans and animals who consume it. Shotgun ammunition is another common source of lead in hunted meat. 6 The resulting fragments of lead are commonly too small to see with the naked eye or to sense when eating. 2 Primary prevention is needed for this overlooked source of lead exposure.Ĭontamination of hunted meat occurs because of expanding lead core rifle bullets capable of releasing millions of fragments on impact with the harvested animal. 1 An underlying lack of food safety standards for adulterated donated food increases risks to low-income recipients, who are already disproportionately affected by elevated blood lead levels (BLLs). Most donated game meat is ground deer meat (venison) other donated game includes wild hog and goose.Įven though the presence of ammunition-derived metallic lead fragments in donated firearms-hunted meat has been recognized for more than a decade, the vast majority of donated hunted meat is not inspected to discard meat containing lead fragments. The National Rifle Association’s (NRA’s) Hunters for the Hungry initiative has established programs in more than 40 states for hunters to take their harvested game animal to a meat-processing facility and indicate intent to donate the resulting processed and packaged meat to a local food bank.
Each year in the United States, food banks receive more than one million kilograms of donated hunted game meat.
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