Green Jersey

Study: Lead found in venison

Image via gardenpa.com.

A study released today confirmed venison can contain lead fragments.

The study, a joint effort by the Peregrine Fund and Washington State University, found that 80 percent of deer shot with standard lead-core bullets and then X-rayed contained metal fragments. Ninety-two percent of those metal fragments were lead. This means people who eat the meat of animals shot with lead bullets risk lead exposure, according to the researchers. The Peregrine Fund suggests copper bullets as an alternative.

The findings were released today at a conference at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho, where the Peregrine Fund is also based.

The North Dakota Department of Health and federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are planning a separate study on people who eat meat from animals killed with lead bullets.

A Calfornia Condor. Image courtesy of the Peregrine Fund.

The Peregrine Fund began studying lead-based bullets after endangered California Condors became sick or died from lead poisoning, the organization says. From its website:

Peregrine Fund research showed that the large scavengers were poisoned after feeding on carcasses and gut piles from hunter-killed game. In 2007, 80 percent of hunters voluntarily used non-lead ammunition in condor country or removed deer gut piles after learning about the effects of lead on condors. Condor deaths dropped from four in 2006 to none in 2007.

The suggestion that lead bullets could make venison unsafe prompted outrage from pro-hunting groups such as Safari Club International in Somerset, says the Associated Press.