Increasing the Awareness of Health Risks from Lead-Contaminated Game Meat Among International and National Human Health Organizations

Abstract

Lead bullets and gunshot frequently fragment on impact in game animals and the resulting lead particles are bioavailable. Dietary exposure to this lead source can present health risks to vulnerable groups including young children and frequent consumers such as hunters, subsistence indigenous communities, and recipients of game meat from food banks. Many of the frequent game meat consumers in the European Union (EU) are likely to be drawn from the 13.8 million people, including 1.1 million young children, belonging to hunters' households. It is estimated that 10 million people are potentially at risk in the USA. National food and health advisories and regulatory considerations appear confined to Europe. Despite the European Commission requesting restrictions on lead ammunition, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), and individual countries have not adequately recognized this lead source nor developed mitigation measures. In contrast, several agreements administered by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), have well-developed risk reduction strategies for lead ammunition exposure of wildlife. These agencies could play a leadership role, stimulating appropriate international accords and national regulatory changes requiring the use of non-lead ammunition. Establishing a maximum allowable level of lead in game meat under FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius and EU Regulation 1881/2006, and harmonizing inter-agency human and environmental health approaches would be an important start.

Lead contamination in Australian game meat

“…There is no level of exposure to lead known to be without harmful effects in humans (World Health Organization, 2022 ). In recent years, recognition of the health risks posed to certain human consumers by residues from lead-based ammunition in meat from wildlife species (game meat) has grown rapidly worldwide (Pain et al, 2022 ; Thomas et al, 2022 ). Dietary exposure to lead from ammunition also poses health risks to domestic animals such as hunter’s dogs (Fernández et al, 2021 ) and wildlife, including scavenging or predatory species (Pain et al, 2019 ) and waterfowl.…”

Probabilistic Assessment of the Intake of Trace Elements by Consumption of Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) and Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) Meat

“…It is remarkable that although game meat harvest is limited to the hunting season, game meat consumption occurs consistently throughout the year [8]. Therefore, the intake data have been obtained for one year, and determining the intake per serving is straightforward by dividing the annual intake by 52, given that this type of meat is typically consumed about once a week [6].…”

“…In Europe, game animals are categorized into large wild game (e.g., elk, deer, fallow deer, wild boar, roe deer) and small wild game (e.g., hare, game birds: pheasant, partridge) [5]. European ungulate populations have been on the rise, with approximately 6.3 million large game animals, primarily deer species and wild boar, harvested annually [6]. The game meat sourced from these wild European species contributes to an increased meat supply and provides market diversification as an alternative to other red meats [7].…”

“…Traditionally, game meat is cherished and predominantly consumed by hunters and their relatives [8,10]. In Europe, approximately 5.5 million hunters have been identified as frequent consumers of game meat, partaking in its consumption at least once a week [6]. Furthermore, there exists a segment of the population, distinct from the hunting community, that also includes wild game meat in their diet [6].…”