Meat causes illness and game meat is no exception

France is calling on its population to eat less meat and sausage for health and climate reasons. What the government now officially recommends, studies have shown for years: Meat causes illness, and game meat is not a healthy exception. Nevertheless, hobby hunters and lobbyists promote venison as a "natural organic product," even though lead, pathogens and environmental toxins massively increase the risk for consumers.

Editorial team Wild beim Wild — February 13, 2026

France has above-average meat consumption and is now officially calling on its population to eat less meat and sausage.

This is justified by health and environmental aspects, particularly the connection between meat consumption, cancer risk and climate impact. Similar recommendations have been coming for years from international expert panels, scientific studies and national health authorities. The message is always the same: Less meat protects climate, animals and people and explicitly also applies to so-called «game meat».

What the WHO says about meat

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the WHO classifies processed meat such as sausage and cured meat as «carcinogenic to humans» (Group 1). Red meat, which includes beef, pork, lamb and also meat from wild ruminants, is classified as «probably carcinogenic» (Group 2A). Even relatively small daily amounts increased the risk of colorectal cancer and other diseases of the digestive tract in large cohort studies. Additionally, meta-analyzes show correlations with cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes—the higher and more regular the consumption, the higher the risk. There is no scientific basis for the claim that meat suddenly becomes healthy through the label change to «game».

Game meat is not an organic product

Recreational hunters like to refer to game meat as «organic meat» because the animals lived «free» and received no concentrated feed. Legally and factually, this is wrong: organic certifications require controlled husbandry conditions, feeding, medication, area management and complete documentation—all conditions that are not met with free-living wild animals and recreational hunting. No one knows exactly where the animals stay, what they eat, which pollutants they are exposed to and how sick or contaminated animals are handled. Wild animals also move through landscapes that are contaminated by traffic, industry, agriculture, PFAS chemicals, pesticides and heavy metals. Meat from wild-living animals cannot carry organic certification on principle—it is an uncontrolled natural product with corresponding risks.

Lead ammunition: poison in the meat

A central problem of game meat is hunting ammunition. When an animal is shot with lead ammunition, the projectile fragments into numerous small pieces that spread throughout the tissue and often cannot be removed even with thorough trimming. Studies show average lead contents of around 5.2 ppm in wild animal bodies, about 14 times the former EU assumptions. Even the smallest amounts of lead are considered harmful to health; there is no safe threshold value for lead exposure. Lead damages the central nervous system, increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, impairs cognitive development in children and can disrupt fetal development in pregnant women.

Health authorities such as ANSES in France and the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) expressly advise particularly sensitive groups—pregnant women, nursing mothers, children and frequent consumers—against regular consumption of game meat. In some cases, it is recommended to eat game meat at most a few times per year, if at all. Studies also document significantly elevated blood lead levels in people who frequently eat game meat; after switching to lead-free ammunition, the levels dropped significantly.

According to studies, health risks exist in connection with the consumption of game meat

Zoonoses: pathogens in game meat

Game meat is not only a heavy metal carrier but also a germ carrier. Various studies and authority reports document relevant occurrences of Salmonella, Yersinia, Listeria, pathogenic E. coli (STEC) and the Hepatitis E virus in game meat. A critical point is the field dressing and butchering: contact between intestinal contents and muscle tissue frequently occurs, especially when hunting hygiene rules are poorly observed. In practice, animals are often field-dressed too late, improperly transported (e.g. in warm car trunks) and butchered in garages or sheds—ideal conditions for germ proliferation.

Wild boar can be infected with trichinella larvae; inadequately heated meat can lead to severe, potentially fatal infections. Therefore, trichinella examinations are legally required, but controls are not comprehensive everywhere and do not protect against all other pathogens. The image of a 'clean natural product' collapses at the latest when one examines the microbiological reality of game meat.

Chemicals, Pesticides and PFAS

Wild animals do not live in an untouched natural paradise, but in the midst of a human-influenced environment. They roam intensively used agricultural areas, roadsides, industrial sites, contaminated shooting ranges and military terrain. There they absorb pesticides, heavy metals and so-called 'forever chemicals' (PFAS), which accumulate in the body. In the USA, extremely high PFAS contamination levels have been detected in wild animals near military bases, far exceeding values that would be acceptable in supermarkets. PFAS are suspected of being carcinogenic, disrupting the hormonal system and weakening the immune system.

The notion that wild animals are automatically 'cleaner' than livestock ignores this environmental reality. While pollutant uptake in livestock is at least partially controlled and monitored, there is neither systematic control nor transparency with wild animals. Consumers typically do not learn in which area the animal was killed and what contamination it was exposed to.

Ecological Consequences: Lead Kills Scavengers

Lead ammunition is not only a problem on the plate, but also for ecosystems. Scavengers such as eagles, vultures and other birds of prey absorb lead when they feed on shot or deceased wild animals. In several regions of the world, lead poisoning is one of the main causes of death among large scavengers. Foxes, martens, wild boar and other animals that utilize carcasses can also be contaminated.

A single lead hunting projectile can contaminate an entire animal and parts of the food chain. Added to this are countless pellets from waterfowl and small game hunting, which permanently contaminate soils and waters. Hobby hunting as a supposedly 'ecological' or 'nature-based' practice thus reveals itself as a source of environmental toxins that have effects far beyond the moment of the shot.

Game Meat from Recreational Hunters? Carrion on the Plate!

Hunting Myths: 'Natural', 'Regional', 'Sustainable'

Hobby hunters like to argue that game meat is 'natural', 'regional' and 'sustainable' as a moral counter-design to industrial factory farming. This narrative glosses over several levels: First, game meat remains a product from killed sentient beings, whose production is associated with considerable suffering (missed shots, tracking wounded animals, injuries). Second, hobby hunting in many regions is not a regulating corrective, but a driving force behind high populations, winter feeding and hunting-motivated population manipulations. Third, risks such as lead, zoonoses, hygiene deficiencies and environmental toxins are systematically downplayed or concealed.

'Regionality' alone does not make a product healthy, ethical or ecologically sensible. When a wild animal is shot with lead, killed in a contaminated environment, poorly cooled during transport and butchered in the home garage, the result is anything but a high-quality food product. The romantic hobby hunting PR collides head-on with the sober risk analysis of modern food and environmental medicine.

Health Authorities vs. Hobby Hunter PR

While hunting associations aggressively market game meat as 'healthy', health authorities paint a considerably more cautious picture. ANSES, BfR and other institutions repeatedly emphasize that game meat, particularly from animals killed with lead ammunition, is unsuitable for certain groups and problematic for frequent consumers. Warnings are directed especially at pregnant women, nursing mothers, children and people who regularly consume game meat. Recommendations include eating game meat only rarely, ensuring lead-free ammunition is used, and ensuring careful preparation.

The discrepancy between official caution and hunting marketing rhetoric is glaring. While official bodies urge restraint, recreational hunters sell game meat as a medically valuable premium product without transparently informing consumers about the known risks.

Game meat is not a healthy special case

More and more countries and studies call for reduced meat consumption, for good reasons. The health risks of red and processed meat are well documented, and game meat forms no positive exception here. On the contrary: lead ammunition, zoonoses, hygiene deficiencies and environmental toxins add additional risks that would not be permitted in this form in many industrially controlled products. Those who market game meat as 'organic', 'healthy' or 'natural' ignore the foreseeable consequences for humans, animals and the environment.

Instead of believing hobby hunting PR, consumers should orient themselves toward independent health authorities and scientific studies and significantly reduce their overall meat consumption.

For further information and source references, particularly suitable are the dossiers and articles on wildbeimwild.com about game meat, lead, hunting myths and organic claims.

Added value: