I found this article in Petersen's Hunting Mag and thought I'd share it with all.
A study by the Centers For Disease Control found that hunters who eat venison shot with lead bullets do have higher lead levels in their blood than those who don't eat venison, but it is still WELL below levels considered unhealthy. Ted Novin, spokesman for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said there is no reason hunters should be concerned. The CDC conducted tests on 740 North Dakota hunters; none had levels high enough to warrant follow-up testing or medical treatment.
"It's a non-issue. According to the study, lead levels in hunters in this study are actually lower than the average American, and children who took part in the study had readings that were less than half of the national average," said Novin. "Hunters have been using lead ammunition for decades and eating the game harvested with those bullets with no health effects, whatsoever. There is no reason they shouldn't continue using the same bullets."
Dr. William Cornatzer, a North Dakota dermatologist, prompted a nationwide scare after he found lead fragments in 53 of 95 packages of ground venison that had been donated to food pantries in 2007. The findings set off a rash of concerns over potential lead poisoning, but despite the recent CDC study that ended those fears, some states are still reacting as if there is a health issue. North Dakota food banks will only accept meat from deer taken with a bow. Minnesota's venison donation program requires all meat be X-rayed before it can be distributed. Meat with lead particles has to be discarded. That additional step will add 30 cents per pound to the total cost of processing and will likely reduce the amount of meat given to the needy. Minnesota will only allow hunters to donate whole cuts of meat instead of ground meat, which used to be the primary type of donated venison.
A study by the Centers For Disease Control found that hunters who eat venison shot with lead bullets do have higher lead levels in their blood than those who don't eat venison, but it is still WELL below levels considered unhealthy. Ted Novin, spokesman for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said there is no reason hunters should be concerned. The CDC conducted tests on 740 North Dakota hunters; none had levels high enough to warrant follow-up testing or medical treatment.
"It's a non-issue. According to the study, lead levels in hunters in this study are actually lower than the average American, and children who took part in the study had readings that were less than half of the national average," said Novin. "Hunters have been using lead ammunition for decades and eating the game harvested with those bullets with no health effects, whatsoever. There is no reason they shouldn't continue using the same bullets."
Dr. William Cornatzer, a North Dakota dermatologist, prompted a nationwide scare after he found lead fragments in 53 of 95 packages of ground venison that had been donated to food pantries in 2007. The findings set off a rash of concerns over potential lead poisoning, but despite the recent CDC study that ended those fears, some states are still reacting as if there is a health issue. North Dakota food banks will only accept meat from deer taken with a bow. Minnesota's venison donation program requires all meat be X-rayed before it can be distributed. Meat with lead particles has to be discarded. That additional step will add 30 cents per pound to the total cost of processing and will likely reduce the amount of meat given to the needy. Minnesota will only allow hunters to donate whole cuts of meat instead of ground meat, which used to be the primary type of donated venison.
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