A: Health concerns over lead in venison were virtually nonexistent until March 2008 when Dr. William Cornatzer, a Bismarck dermatologist and board member of the Peregrine Fund, informed the North Dakota Department of Health that he’d tested 95 one-pound samples of ground venison donated through state food pantries and found lead fragments in 53 of them.

At Cornatzer’s announcement, North Dakota and Minnesota actually disposed of thousands of pounds of venison destined for needy families. Iowa delayed distribution until it could do its own testing, then resumed distribution.

Cornatzer was on the board of directors for the Peregrine Fund, a group that had supported the ban on lead ammunition in California’s condor range. Cornatzer’s announcement was timed just weeks before the Peregrine Fund was set to hold a conference in May, entitled, “Ingestion of Spent Lead Ammunition: Implications for Wildlife and Humans.” Many felt the timing of his announcement was a deliberate attempt to draw attention to the conference.

A: Hunters have eaten venison taken with lead bullets for hundreds of years. Yet there is not one documented case of lead poisoning from eating deer meat. Doctors are required to report all cases of lead poisoning to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), yet according to CDC public health advisor Kimball Credle, no cases have ever been traced to wild game meat.

A: At the request of the North Dakota Department of Health, the CDC tested blood lead levels in 738 residents of that state. Results were released in November 2008, and not one individual tested had levels considered elevated. According to the CDC, blood levels are considered “elevated” in children when they are above 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood; and in adults 25 micrograms per deciliter. The highest level in the whole CDC test was 9.8 micrograms per deciliter.

The geometric mean of the CDC study of 1.17 micrograms per deciliter was lower than the geometric mean of lead in the overall U.S. population (1.60 micrograms per deciliter).  More than 86 percent of the people in the CDC test reported eating more than one type of wild game.

The lead levels of children under 6, those who the Minnesota Department of Health deems "the most at risk," had a mean of just 0.88 micrograms per deciliter of blood.  That’s just one part per billion and less than half the national average.

A: The Iowa State Department of Health has tested blood-lead levels since 1992, in 500,000 youths and 25,000 adults. They have not found one single case of lead poisoning from wild game.

A: In 2008, Minnesota hunters donated about 25,000 pounds of deer meat for the state’s food sharing programs. Random testing of that meat conducted by the state’s Department of Agriculture found that 5.3 percent of the meat contained “lead fragments.” So even though 95 percent of the meat tested contained no lead, the state made a decision to round up all 25,000 pounds of the meat, ship it to the Twin Cities, and X-ray every bit of it before they distributed it to any food banks or get it to people who are hungry.

There are several problems with this decision:
• It cost the taxpayer about $6,000 to have the meat tested by an outside contractor. Not a huge amount, but certainly an unnecessary expense.
• It caused an unnecessary delay getting the meat to the families who needed it.
• It contributes to increased calls for restrictions or bans on lead ammunition. The Humane Society of the United States has called for a total ban on lead ammunition, and they are the most radical anti-hunting group in the country. A ban on lead ammunition would force hunters to buy alternatives (such as copper) which tend to be much harder to find, and ultimately cause some people to actually drop out of hunting.
• Non-lead ammunition is more expensive than lead.  In one online example, we found Winchester .270 130-gr. lead bullets selling for $18.99 for 20; a similar copper load—Federal’s all-copper Triple Shock Barnes 130-gr. bullet—sells for $44.99.
• Finally, this inconsequential random testing led Minnesota state officials to consider eliminating their venison donation program. That has two consequences: fewer hungry families will receive the lean, high-protein meals they’ve been getting, and fewer deer will be taken throughout the state. One of the things a venison donation program does is allow hunters to legally harvest more deer than they might be able to fit in their own freezer. Ultimately, this can have a bad affect on a state’s deer management.
• The testing decision also raises the question: Since CDC is the leading authority on public health issues, why is a state government agency ignoring it?
• While no nationwide figures are available, state Hunters for the Hungry programs generate tons of lean, nutritious deer to hungry American families. Wisconsin alone in 2007 collected 414,000 pounds, and Iowa collected 326,650 pounds the same year.

A: No. Despite knee-jerk reactions over lead in venison by a few states, virtually all state DNRs publicly called on hunters to continue donating venison to Hunters for the Hungry programs.

A: Yes. Unfounded fears over lead bullet fragmentation, or ingestion by certain birds, have caused some to call for a ban on the use of lead ammunition. For example:

In 2007, California totally banned the use of lead ammunition for big game hunting throughout condor habitat in the state, and that prohibition took effect on July 1, 2008. In February 2009, the state Fish and Game Commission began considering a statewide ban on the use of lead ammunition. The commission also considered a ban on lead ammunition for small game and upland bird hunting in the state's condor zone but opted against that proposal by a 4-1 vote on Aug. 6, 2009.

California has pushed for these additional lead bans even though data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) shows that the state's existing lead ban has not reduced blood-lead levels in condors. Despite reports of nearly 100 percent compliance from hunters in the first year of the lead ban, a California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) report utilizing the USFWS data showed that improvement in condor blood-lead levels was almost negligible between the first six months of 2008 (pre-lead ban) and the second half of 2008 (post-ban). During the January through June 2008 time frame, 59 percent of the condors tested had blood-lead levels above what is considered a normal or acceptable background level. In the second half of the year from July through December, 45 percent of condors had blood-lead levels above normal. (Source: "Lead Ban Not Really Helping Condors," Jim Matthews, San Bernardino Sun, July 30, 2009)

A: Restrictions or bans on the use of lead ammunition may ultimately drive people out of hunting. Non-lead ammunition can cost double what lead ammunition costs, and availability is much more limited. Reducing the number of hunters reduces the income generated by the sale of hunting licenses (the major source of funding for game and fish departments), has a negative impact on wildlife management, and imposes economic losses on hunting-related businesses.  In Minnesota alone in 2006, hunting-related retail sales totaled $637,270,173. Minnesota hunters also generated $75,882,194 in state taxes, plus $86,158,974 in federal tax revenues. 

In 2008, the first hunting season after California imposed a ban on lead ammunition in the state’s condor range, hunting license sales fell significantly after three years of steady gains. In the affected regions, the number of deer hunters dropped nearly 5 percent and hog hunters dropped 15 percent—costing the California Department of Fish and Game more than $200,000 in lost tag fees alone. (Source: "Ammo Rule Has Massive Impact," Jim Matthews, San Bernardino Sun, March 13, 2009 (http://www.sbsun.com/sports/ci_11903720)
 
Contributions to food banks will also suffer. For example, donations to Minnesota’s food bank program fell off dramatically. Hunters donated 2,000 deer in 2007, compared to 675 in 2008. Although no decision has been reached yet, Minnesota state officials are considering terminating the venison donation program, which would deprive thousands of needy families of lean, protein-rich meals, not to mention make it more difficult for the state to reach its deer management objectives.

A: There are common sense guidelines anyone can follow:
• Cut away all shot-damaged meat.
• Cut away a generous portion of meat around the wound channel.
• Don’t attempt to wash away lead fragments—it may just spread them more.
• Studies show that ground venison may contain more lead fragments than whole cuts of meat.
• Wash hands, face and clothing after shooting or reloading ammunition.
• Pregnant women and children under six have been cautioned not to ingest any lead at all for years. Avoid cooking venison in acidic sauces (wine, vinegar, lemon).