Biology subjects

Pain, D.

Publications and source records attributed to Pain, D..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Comparison of concentrations of lead (Pb) in meat from wild-shot common pheasants killed using shotgun pellets principally composed of lead, iron (Fe), bismuth (Bi) and zinc (Zn)

The source of almost all of the lead (Pb) found in meat from carcasses of wild-shot small game animals is often thought to be small embedded fragments of the lead shotgun pellets usually used by hunters to kill them. Available circumstantial evidence supports this conjecture, but an unknown proportion of the lead in game meat might be biologically-incorporated and absorbed by the game animal from ingested shotgun pellets and other environmental sources, such as soil and residues from mining. A critical test comparing lead concentrations in meat from animals known to have been killed using different types of shotgun ammunition has not been performed until now. We compared lead concentrations in samples of edible meat from carcasses of 27 wild-shot common pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) from which only lead shotgun pellets were recovered post mortem with concentrations for 20 birds from which only iron pellets were recovered. Shotgun pellets were removed from the meat samples before analysis. The mean concentration of lead was about 30 times greater in the meat of pheasants shot with lead than those shot with iron and was similar to mean concentrations of lead reported previously from Europe-wide samples of meat from wild-shot small game animals, including pheasants, killed using unknown types of ammunition. These results support the hypothesis that changing the type of shotgun ammunition in use for hunting from lead to iron would greatly reduce the concentration of lead in meat from wild-shot small game.

pharmacology and toxicology↗

bioRxiv2022

Implications for food safety of the size and location of fragments of lead shotgun pellets embedded in hunted carcasses of small game animals intended for human consumption

Carcasses of common pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) killed by hunters using shotguns are widely used or sold in the United Kingdom and elsewhere for human consumption. Almost all of the birds are shot using shotgun pellets composed principally of lead (Pb). Lead shotgun pellets often fragment on impact within the bodies of gamebirds, leaving small lead particles in the meat that are difficult for consumers to detect and remove and from which a greater proportion of lead is likely to be absorbed. Chronic exposure to even low levels of lead is associated with negative health effects in humans and especially in groups particularly vulnerable to the effects of lead, which include young children and pregnant women. Our study used a high-resolution computerised tomography X-ray scanner to locate, in three dimensions, metal fragments embedded within carcasses of eight pheasants sold for human consumption in the UK. Small radio-dense fragments (<2 mm diameter), assumed to be metallic lead, were present in all of the pheasant carcasses examined (mean number: 39 per carcass) and many were too small (<0.1 mm diameter) and too distant from the nearest large shotgun pellet for it to be practical for consumers to detect and remove them without discarding a large proportion of otherwise usable meat. Consumers of carcasses of pheasants killed using lead shotgun ammunition are likely to be exposed to elevated levels of dietary lead, even if careful food preparation is practiced to remove shotgun pellets and the most damaged tissue.

pharmacology and toxicology↗