Lead fragment warning for hunters
People who eat game meat could be inadvertently contaminating themselves with lead. Now a new study is hoping to discover just how much of the metal is left behind in the meat of animals killed by lead bullets – and the researchers want hunters to donate mince for testing.
A research team at the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology has joined an international consortium researching the use of lead ammunition in hunting.
Dr Eric Buenz, research professor of applied industries at NMIT, said overseas studies had found that 10% to 50% of meat samples studied were found to have traces of lead.
The new study, funded by an $8000 grant from the Maurice and Phyllis Paykel Trust, was an opportunity to see what the level of contamination was in New Zealand, he said.
The researchers are asking hunters from around New Zealand to send in packets of mince for free testing.
Buenz is a keen hunter, and his interest in the topic was sparked about five years ago, when he met a hunter who had unexplained weight loss and gout and ate a lot of game meat harvested from hunting. He was found to have lead levels about 16 times the safe level.
He said it was difficult to know how high lead contamination levels would be in New Zealand, as hunting practices here differed from those overseas. Other countries had limited hunting seasons, but in New Zealand people could hunt year-round, which could increase the risk.
On the flip side, this meant some hunters would be more selective about which parts of the animal they butchered, leaving behind the areas around the bullet wound, which were most likely to be contaminated, he said.
Generally, an area of about 30cm diameter around the bullet’s trajectory would be contaminated, Buenz said, but this could be greater if the bullet hit a bone and shattered more, with up to 40% of the bullet spreading into the animal.
The problem could be compounded by mincing meat, as small fragments would be ground up further, he said.
Use of lead-free ammunition was less prevalent in New Zealand, where about 95% of bullets contained lead, Buenz said. He urged hunters with a stockpile of meat in the freezer to send some in for testing.
‘‘You don’t really lose much out, and you gain a whole heap of peace of mind.’’
Once the researchers assessed the level of contamination, the focus would turn to education, and any common themes, such as the areas hunters were living in, and what they were hunting, Buenz said.
The research team is also working to fund a project looking at the role of bullets in lead poisoning of kea. The Department of Conservation says the native parrots eat carcasses, which contributes to lead poisoning. Anyone wishing to take part in the study can email Research.Admin@ nmit.ac.nz.