Game meat consumption by hunters and their relatives: a probabilistic approach

Abstract

This study aimed to estimate the consumption of meat and products derived from hunting by the consumer population and, specifically, by hunters and their relatives. For this purpose, a survey was conducted on the frequency of consuming meat from the four most representative game species in Spain, two of big game, wild boar (Sus scrofa) and red deer (Cervus elaphus), and two of small game, rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and red partridge (Alectoris rufa), as well as of processed meat products (salami-type sausage) made from those big game species. The survey was carried out on 337 habitual consumers of these types of products (hunters and their relatives). The total mean game meat consumption, per capita in this population group, is 6.87 kg/person/year of meat and 8.57 kg/person/year if the processed meat products are also considered. Consumption of rabbit, red partridge, red deer and wild boar, individually, was 1.85, 0.82, 2.28 and 1.92 kg/person/year, respectively. It was observed that hunters generally registered a larger intake of game meat, this being statistically significant in the case of rabbit meat consumption. Using probabilistic methods, the meat consumption frequency distributions for each hunting species studied were estimated, as well as the products made from big game species and the total consumption both of meat by itself and that including the products made from it. The consumption frequency distributions were adjusted to exponential ones, verified by the test suitable for it according to Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), the Chi-squared and Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistics. In addition, the consumption percentiles of the different distributions were obtained. The latter could be a good tool when making nutrition or contaminant studies since they permit the assessment of exposure to the compound in question.

Risks to human health from ammunition-derived lead in Europe

“…Maximum consumption was by two people who only ate large game meat, so represents an outlying extreme. Sevillano Morales et al (2018) found mean game meat consumption of 8.57 kg/person/year (of wild boar, red deer, rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ), partridge ( Alectoris rufa ) and processed meat products made from them) in 337 habitual consumers of game (hunters and their relatives).…”

Integrating Mercury Concentrations in American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) with Hunter Consumption Surveys to Estimate Exposure Risk

“…In aquatic systems, contaminant concentrations in fish populations are often monitored by state and federal governments, but other game species (such as waterfowl, ungulates, alligators, and rabbits) are typically not given the same level of attention (Conder & Arblaster, 2016 ; Smith et al, 2018 ). Globally, studies have investigated concentrations of contaminants in common game species, many of which have provided information on the risk of consuming game that has been killed with lead bullets and/or game meat that is sourced in close proximity to an area with known contamination (Arioli et al, 2019 ; Fachehoun et al, 2015 ; Morales et al, 2018 ; Oldenkamp et al, 2017 ; Swiergosz et al, 1993 ). While all game species can be exposed to contaminants, long‐lived predatory species living in contaminated environments have the potential to bioaccumulate high‐contaminant body burdens (Rowe, 2008 ), particularly for compounds such as Hg, which tend to biomagnify within an ecosystem.…”

Safe Game: Hygienic Habits in Self-Consumption of Game Meat in Eastern Spain

“…Fish and wildlife management professionals use public opinion and attitude surveys to facilitate an understanding of their constituents [36]. Those surveys have been used to consult attitudes towards hunting and fishing [37][38][39], game meat consumption [38,40], or the opinion about governmental wildlife agencies [41]. Public health authorities also use this methodology to obtain information about the food hygiene practices of their citizens [42,43].…”