Sportsman's Blog

I spent all day yesterday at a conference convened in Bloomington, Minnesota, but attended by agencies from 7 different states, to discuss the current hot-topic concern of lead fragments being found in venison.   States such as North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa and Missouri all collaborated to share information and discuss the potential health hazards to the venison consuming public.

As you can imagine, during an all-day conference a lot of good information came out.   Represented were officials from all the different state wildlife departments, as well as from agriculture and public health departments.   Also rounding out the list of attendees were various special interest groups promoting hunting and professional meat packers.   Suffice it to say the group was quite broad and the topic was truly examined from very diverse perspectives.

The perceived problem: Using lead bullets will often fragment upon impact and this metallic lead dispersal can be retained in the deer’s carcass and eventually make it to the hunter’s table where it can be ingested by the hunter’s family.   To read more on events creating this controversial topic and the tons of hunter-donated venison subsequently pulled from food shelves back in March, click here.

Here are a bunch of my random thoughts and facts distilled from the conference:

• Consuming lead (in any form or amount) is dangerous to your health.
• There has been no documented cases of anyone ever being poisoned by lead as a result of eating venison.
• In Minnesota, results of X-ray screening found that in the venison samples taken (based on 1,239 samples to date), ground venison product contained detectable lead fragments in 26% of the samples analyzed while only 2% of the whole cuts (non-ground venison) contained traces of lead.
• The results (above) are fairly consistent with what other states who also did testing were finding.
• Even the MN DNR did a sampling of venison collected by its own employees.   In all cases this venison was home-processed by department individuals with whom one would assume would be careful and knowledgeable about prudent home-butchering practices.   Again, about 20% of the samples (mostly ground) examined contained detectable amounts of lead.
• BOTTOM LINE:  If lead bullets are used for hunting deer there is no sure way of totally eliminating the ingestion threat no matter how careful the hunter may be.   Remember, not all lead fragments can be seen or felt by the palate when eating.
• Careful cutting around the wound channel may not be enough.   Microscopic fragments have been found as far as 12 inches from this observable wound channel.
• We all take risks in life.   Ultimately hunters still need to determine if the risk of ingesting lead through venison consumption is acceptable.   The states plan to give hunters the information and then let them make informed decisions about taking that risk.
• Unfortunately, there is not a lot of information available regarding the dangers of lead ingested in food.
• That being said, most lead poisonings occur either through environmental sources (i.e. lead-based paint in old houses) or occupational/hobby exposure.
• There are two categories of people most susceptible to the effects of lead exposure.   Children under the age of 6 years old and pregnant women.   Lead being a neurotoxin primarily effects the brain, but it can have a whole host of other medical manifestations.   In children, the brain is still developing until the age of 5 or 6 years old.   In pregnant women, lead will pass through the placenta and could adversely effect the developing fetus.
• Each of the state wildlife agencies agreed that the venison donation program to local food shelves is an important element of their deer management programs.
• The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) just wrapped up testing in North Dakota where they sampled 680 participants who agreed to have their blood tested to determine the level of lead in the bloodstream.   The testing sampled both adults and children, as well as those who eat wild game and those who do not.   This preliminary community health testing program could help determine if the problem is indeed a widespread public health issue.   Expect the CDC to release the results as early as September.
• Ken Sharp, Division Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health stated, “If we had a serious problem with lead [ingested in venison] we would have identified it long ago.”   He went on to relate how starting about 10 years ago Iowa began seeing an influx of certain ethnic populations who use “home remedies” for common ailments…some of which were determined to contain lead.   It was only a matter of time before this health problem was brought to the attention of government health officials.   To that extent, lead consumed in venison has never been identified in Iowa as causing health problems.
• With PCB’s and Mercury hazards there is usually even distribution throughout the animal’s tissue.   With lead it depends on shot placement.   For that reason it is difficult to issue consumption advisories for lead in the same manner as warnings are issued for other potential food toxins.
• The smaller the lead particle, the greater the rate of absorption into the bloodstream.
• It was also stated that a study out of Europe found marinating meat in vinegar (such as Balsamic vinegar) or other acidic marinates could potentially increase the absorption of lead because it facilitates the chemical breakdown of lead.
• It is speculated that part of the problem with the sampling of ground venison could be because of “batch grinding” done by the processor.   If the processor comingles 100 or 200 pounds of meat in a batch (for convenience in processing) it is much easier to contaminate the entire batch.
• Susan Recce of the National Rifle Association (NRA) was present encouraging the states not to mandate or push for non-lead alternatives.   She insisted that hunters are smart enough to figure out what is the right thing to do.
• As for food donated to foodshelf programs, the basic principle intimated by the conference attendees to hunters was “if you personally wouldn’t eat the meat why then should you be donating it for others to eat?”
• Processors are urged to exercise extreme care in selecting meat for grinding.   If a carcass is brought in for food shelf donation…bullet damage, hair, dirt, grass, etc. should be kept to a minimum.   Expect to see more processors turning away non-wholesome meat for food shelf donations.
• Processors and home butchers need to frequently inspect their grinding equipment for lead fragments that may be caught in the mechanism.
• Hunters will be encouraged to use proper shot placement on the animal.   Don’t shoot at running deer.   Take shots at deer from closer ranges to reduce unwanted meat damage.   Goal is for a quick, clean kill.   Don’t consume the internal organs.   Rinse out the chest cavity to eliminate lead contaminants that could migrate to other areas of the carcass.
• Remember, if safe and careful precautions are taken, lead bullets are still considered by most state wildlife agency officials present to be a viable alternative in ammunition selection.
• Everyone in attendance agreed that they are learning more about this issue all the time and that further guidelines and recommendations to the public about lead in venison are likely to follow.

In closing, I just want to offer up some final personal thoughts on the lead fragmentation in venison issue.   More and more I’m convinced that unless you take a deer with a bow…high-powered rifles, shotguns and muzzleloaders are all certainly capable of contaminating a deer with lead.   Yet, even a bow killed deer could potentially contain lead from injuries sustained previously by the animal due to a firearm.   There are no absolute guarantees.   Venison served up at the table often can contain lead.

As an informed hunter sitting in on this conference, is it going to change how I hunt?   Sure, it further drives home the importance of good sportsmanship skill…something we’ve all been preached about since day number one.   Strive for that one-shot kill.   Still, unless you do your own venison processing it also underscores the point that you need to trust your butcher.   In Minnesota, for instance, this is meat that is not subject to government inspection.   You need to trust that this person will not cut corners to possibly endanger the health of your family.

If my wife was pregnant (which she happens to be for a few weeks longer) or if I have a young pre-school child in my household, perhaps those individuals would not be eating ground venison product.   Roasts, chops and loins absent of any wound channels would be perfectly acceptable for everyone in the household.   The health risk on these cuts is very low.

In my opinion the key to dealing with this lead in the venison issue is first to accept that it exists.   We must then learn how to minimize the risks involved by using good, sound scientific information on the topic.   After all, it really shouldn’t be a surprise to any of us hunters that the potential of lead in wild meat exists…I just think some of us are a bit surprised as to the growing documentation of this possible health threat.   Accepting the problem and then acting to minimize the risks through solid, non-biased information should be the goal for each of us as sportsmen.   Stay tuned…as I learn more I will gladly be passing it along on this blog.

I also welcome your insightful thoughts and comments on this issue.

2008 Jim Braaten. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction without Prior Permission.