Hobby hunters are severely poisoning our environment
Lead ammunition is also a particularly cruel form of hunting. Injured animals suffer not only from their wounds but also from slow poisoning. Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands banned such ammunition long ago.
The ammunition used by hobby hunters causes an unforeseen contamination of ecosystems — not only through lead — and poses a risk to the environment and human health.
This is the key finding of an expert report published on 12 September by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).
The burden of the tonnes of lead that hobby hunters leave behind in the wild is eco-terrorism. The European Chemicals Agency estimates that 21’000 tonnes of lead are scattered across ecosystems as a result of hobby hunting. The ECHA fears both the gradual contamination of groundwater and acute poisoning of wildlife.
One to two million birds die each year
The environmental impacts affect wildlife above all. ECHA estimates in a “conservative” manner that between one and two million birds — such as partridges and pheasants — die each year from lead poisoning. Either through direct ingestion of lead pellets or through secondary contamination in birds of prey.
Lead is a highly toxic heavy metal. It also has extremely negative effects on the human circulatory system and can cause acute or chronic poisoning, particularly following the consumption of game meat.
Particularly at risk: children and pregnant women
“There is an increased risk for consumer groups who eat game on a weekly basis, especially in hobby hunter households,” says BfR President Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel. “Particularly at risk are unborn children and children up to the age of seven, in whom even a small intake of lead can cause health damage.” For this reason, young children, pregnant women and women who wish to become pregnant should avoid eating game killed with lead ammunition as far as possible.
Wild boar, roe deer, and red deer are among the foods most heavily contaminated with lead. The bullets deform or fragment on impact, and lead particles and the finest lead splinters break off and penetrate deep into the meat. They are barely detectable there. More on the animal welfare problem of hobby hunting.
