Lead Poisoning in Deer

Lead the deer to your tree stand but don't fill them full of lead!

Lead poisoning in deer happens when a deer is hit with a bullet containing lead. The venison is then eaten by humans who ingest the lead. Most of the recent research has come from the venison donation to local food shelves who participate in distributing deer meat to people. Researcher's x-ray deer carcasses' for lead and find that lead bullets scatter upon impact making it difficult to find all the fragmented pieces. That also means deer that have previous wounds have greater risk because the lead has had time to leech into the deer.

The DNR heads up the venison donation program where hunters shoot more deer than they can eat. One deer can feed more than 50 people so it is a valuable program for food shelves. The deer carcass is brought to a meat processor. In Minnesota the state pays about $70 for each of the deer that meat processors handle. The venison donation program was started last year and 2000 deer were donated, but because of tighter restrictions processors have donated less than 700 deer this year. Processors were delivering ground venison and now need to deliver whole cuts of meat. Processors also needed to attend training on how to prevent lead contamination. Then there is the added cost of 30 cents per pound to x-ray all the meat. With all the cost and the low turnout this year the programs worth is being reconsidered.

We can start to eliminate lead bullet poisoning in animals and humans by not buying lead bullets. There are other types of bullets like copper that may be a little more expensive but definitely worth it.

We first started noticing lead poisoning in eagles and upon further study and research found that fishing sinkers and lures contained lead. The eagles would eat fish that had consumed the lead based fishing gear and die of lead poisoning. Birds were scooping up pebbles and lead shot from water to help grind their food. In 1991 lead shot in waterfowl hunting was outlawed, even so 25% of the eagles x-rayed today still test positive for lead poisoning. It was found that sick bald eagles had lead fragments and deer hair in their stomachs. This meant that the eagles were eating lead by feeding on dead deer and piles of guts left behind by hunters during deer season. Most of the lead poisoning from deer happens in November and December.

When we go hunting with lead bullets and wound a deer we pollute ourselves and other wildlife with lead. A wounded deer that lives on to see another day will eventually be caught again which is even more dangerous because of the level of lead intoxication. Even the contaminated lead entrails we leave behind get eaten by scavenger animals and then they are contaminated with lead as well. But there are things we can do such as bury the gut piles from hunted animals. Hunters can also remove the bullets and surrounding meat where the deer was shot.

The best method of preventing lead poisoning is not to use lead products. Lead is a toxic metal that poisons our nervous and reproductive systems. But there is hope starting with little changes that include buying non-lead bullets and ammunition, non-lead fishing sinkers and jigs. A great way to help is by teaching stewardship to younger hunters and fishers. Never throw old lead ammunition or fishing gear into the water in the woods or in the trash. Bring lead items to a local household hazardous waste collection site. You can also call and ask the people who collect your trash; they may be able to tell you where to dispose of lead products. Tell other hunters and anglers the story about lead and encourage them to switch to non-lead alternatives.

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