Lead Ban Chronicles – Colorado Edition
Just a note of interest…
Received my Colorado Big Game hunting regulations booklet, and as I was browsing through to see if there were any new regulation changes, I saw their response to the lead-in-game-meat fiasco. Here’s what they had to say:
Recommendations to Reduce Potential Exposure to Lead in Game Meat Harvested with Lead Ammunition
A recent study in North Dakota has raised concerns about the potential risk of exposure to lead associated with eating wild game harvested with lead bullets. Ingestion of lead from any of a variety of sources can cause significant health problems, especially in young children and pregnant women.
Studies have confirmed that game meat processed by hunters and commercial meat processors can contain lead bullet fragments that are too small to see or even feel when eating the meat. The North Dakota study showed that blood lead levels were slightly higher in a group that ate wild game compared to a group that did not, although neither group had blood lead levels high enough that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would recommend some type of intervention or medical treatment. However, the health significance of these slightly higher levels is not known.Although not enough research has been done to fully evaluate potential health risks that may be associated with lead contamination in game meat, data from the recent study suggest these risks are very low for most people. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Colorado Division of Wildlife provide these recommendations to minimize exposure to lead in wild game:
- Because lead fragments cannot be eliminated with complete certainty, pregnant women and children younger than 6 years of age should avoid eating meat from any game animals harvested with lead bullets. These groups are more sensitive to the health effects of lead, and ingesting even small amounts may be harmful. Lead can affect the development of infants and young children when present at levels well below those that would cause any noticeable signs of illness in a child.
- Hunters can eliminate lead in their game meat by using lead-free bullets.
- When processing an animal, liberally trim and discard meat damaged by the bullet and an expanded area around the bullet channel(s) because lead fragments may scatter some distance from the visible bullet wound. Discard any meat that is bruised, discolored, or contains hair, dirt, grass, visible bone or lead fragments.
- Because lead is a soft metal, it can be ground along with the meat, spreading lead contamination through an entire batch of ground meat. In recent studies, lead has been found more often in ground meat than in whole meat cuts. To minimize the amount of processed game meat potentially contaminated with lead, clean the grinder frequently, preferably between each animal. Ask your commercial processor to process your animal individually to avoid cross-contamination from batching multiple animals.
- Even if a carcass is processed using these recommendations, whether at home or at a commercial processor, there is still a chance small amounts of lead may remain in the meat.
Personally, I think this is a perfectly sensible approach. No panic inducing hyperbole. Just some common sense and a few precautions to protect the most vulnerable… pregnant women and small children.
When I’m out there in October, I’ll be shooting the same Barnes in the .325wsm that I use for hogs here in CA. That’s just because I like the bullets, and I don’t want to have to re-zero my rifle for a one week hunt. The only thing I’ll be thinking about is where to find that big, bull elk!
Phillip,
Stay in California! There aren’t any elk left out here in Colorado:)
February 24th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Yeah, Frank… I was afraid of that.
February 24th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Whoa there, brother.
First things first, I haven’t “given” anyone “words to fry us.” You can thank folks like the HSUS for that. I’m not the one who put the lead ammo issue in the news, and I’m sure not the one who’s been passing off bad information.
Likewise, none of this is “MY DATA”. I’ve been pretty clear all along that I’m not an expert on any of this, but I have been following, collecting, and interpreting the information compiled by others who ARE experts for several years… and while there’s certainly no single, damning bit of evidence, there is enough out there to make a reasonable person stop and consider that this does bear watching… which is all I said in the interview.
I read the CNN article, and while I was a little disappointed that some of what I felt were key points weren’t included (limited availability for non-standard calibers), the writer actually did a pretty well-balanced piece of work. I’ll have to read again when the shock of seeing my name in the lead sentence goes away… but the slant is barely perceptible, and is probably accurate to what I had to say, even if I didn’t recognize it at the time.
Lead ammo is on the way out, my friend. If hunters don’t recognize this and start working proactively, then the rest of the country WILL face mandatory and draconian bans based on the will of the People… because non-hunters don’t give a damn about us. They will vote on half-assed propaganda from anti-hunting organizations,because hunters will not, and have continued to stick their heads in the sand and hide behind out-moded NRA fear-inducing rhetoric.
The people who started the lead ammo issue are not anti-hunters. It was only after the anti-hunters saw this as an opportunity to attack hunters that organizations like HSUS jumped on the bandwagon. But they have momentum. Reactions like yours, Jason, are completely counterproductive to stopping this momentum.
Any idiot can point out the problem. Genius is in offering a solution.
March 4th, 2009 at 8:40 am
My wife is 8 months pregnant and after reading this we won’t be eating any of our frozen ground venison till after she delivers. I’ve been a hunter my whole life. My father is a lifelong hunter as well, but he never supported the NRA precisely because they use fear to promote their agenda and won’t even consider sensible ideas like lead-free ammunition! I’ll be the first to fight any government efforts to take away our right to bear arms, but I also support sensible efforts to protect Americans from harm. I agree the evidence may not be conclusive at this time as to whether lead ammunition is harmful, and that’s exactly what the Colorado regulation info states. The problem is the knee-jerk reaction by NRA types to any ideas that aren’t 110% “pro-gun”. I guarantee you that if any additional evidence is found about lead in meat, it will be dismissed by the NRA as somehow baloney (pun intended).
March 4th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Jason, you’re about an inch from not making sense. What exactly is it that you think I’ve done?
First of all, no on can be more than 100% of anything. 110% pro-gun or anti-gun is ridiculous hyperbole. OK? So let’s get away from that, and the Rush Limbaugh “flaming liberals” mentality, and talk facts.
Fact number one, the CNN article was NOT anti-gun or anti-hunting. It was easily one of the best, most balanced hunting-related articles I’ve seen there in a long time. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised that it was not slanted… I had a little trepidation about giving that information to the reporter. But my trust paid off.
Fact number two – If WE don’t talk to reporters at the mainstream media, WHO WILL? You know the answer as well as I do… the antis and extremists will do all the talking, while we hide under our blankets hoping it will all go away. And when they get done, they will continue to drive public opinion without any input from us at all. The majority of the public still supports sport hunting, but that majority is starting to waver, and it’s only through intelligent, fact-based, public discourse that we can hope to hold onto that support.
Fact number three – lead ammo is destined to obscurity. It will be abolished, and as hunters and shooters we have the option of working toward a constructive solution that protects our traditions and heritage, or we can scream and rail about the unfairness of it all while non-hunters, environmental activists, and anti-hunters write the laws that will govern us.
Fact number four- You don’t have to agree with me on this topic, but if the best you can offer is paraoid fantasies about the “eco-freaks” coming to snatch your guns, you’re a lost cause and debate with you is pointless. What do you have to support your argument? You demand evidence, but you offer none of your own.
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It frustrates you, and it annoys the pig.
March 4th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Hahaha, yeah, it’s a conspiracy, I’ve been planted to spout revolutionary propaganda! No Jason, just a hunter with a different perspective than you. Do I need to have an NRA membership to qualify as a “real” hunter, or is the fact that since I was 10 I’ve been hunting quail, dove, turkey, grouse and deer enough? My perspective may not be one you like, but at least accept that there are hunters who don’t blindly follow wherever NRA leads. This country was founded on compromise, how else do you think so many different groups of people with differing interests and cultures can get along? It may mean we don’t all get what we want, but it’s better than the alternative.
“Never argue with an idiot, they’ll drag you down to their level and win with experience.” -Anonymous
March 4th, 2009 at 11:31 am