Media Gets it Right on Lead Ammo

After several weeks where all too many articles about eating game harvested with lead ammunition were negative, it seems as though more and more members of the media are understanding the true facts.

Take a recent article by Connie Mertz, "Lead ammo does not spoil harvested game." This reporter took the time to ask all the right questions, understanding that "researchers" who have ties to anti-hunting groups may not be the most accurate sources of information when it comes to issues of game and ammunition.

In her piece, Ms. Mertz identified that the dermatologist who started the lead ammunition scare was actually a member of the Peregrine Fund -- an organization dedicated to eliminating the use of lead ammunition for hunting (The dermatologist serves on the Fund's Board of Directors).

She also addressed the fact that, according to the recent CDC Study of blood lead level in hunters , hunters actually have a lower blood lead level than the average American.

Perhaps most noteworthy though, the reporter reached out to the head of Hunters Sharing the Harvest (HSH) -- a group responsible for donating venison to the hungry. Commenting for the HSH, John Plowman said, "Donated meat is processed into ground venison burger, and butchers have several inspection opportunity 'windows' to remove any foreign material, including ammunition fragments. I do not foresee any problem with the quality or edibility of donated deer meat and I eat it all the time. It should be noted there have been no advisories issued by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Department of Health or any other public agencies about any lead problems with Pennsylvania venison. The NSSF is right on target," he emphasizes, referring to the NSSF statement on the safety of eating game taken with lead ammunition.

Reporting like this is what will help save the heritage of hunting. People need to know the facts about lead ammunition and the real threat to our health -- politically driven de facto bans on healthy, low-fat, high-protein food affecting the growing number of America's hungry in these times of economic uncertainty and increasing unemployment.

Comments

[nononsense]

Why are we spending more than a minute on this subject? Does anyone care if a hunter, by his own accord hunts game with a lead bullet and then eats it? Isn't it the hunters right to eat what he hunts regardless of what some dematologist says?

Did the dermatologist state the dangers of MTBE being found in the water, and that the environmentalists are to blame for it?

Spend your time fighting to gain back the rights that we have already lost, and stop waisting out time on trivial meaningless media stories.

[Phil Mccarthy]

While this may be a small front in the battle against the antis', I appreciate all efforts to counter their lies. They are furthering the "hunters and lead bullets" front currently, in an PBS program on the "Bald Eagle". The narrator blames hunters for leaving deer carcasses with lead bullets in them, for the unfortunate sickness suffered by an eagle, claimed to be lead poisoning. The sight of our iconic symbol so ill is affecting, but I wonder about this claim as well.

[Fredy]

This topic needs to be discussed because the real people that are being hurt are the unfortunate folks that would benefit from the extra food donated by hunters, but are hurt by the misinformation being recklessly spread.

Just another example of the Anti's putting the welfare of animals ahead of the welfare of people.

[Sons of Liberty]

This is not a non-issue. California has already floated legislation to ban lead ammunition because of the alleged affect that it "might" have on the California Condor. And that includes jacketed ammo and hollow points. What's next? Now California hunters will be forced to use more costly copper bullets, that is until some "study" is presented about the dangers of copper poisoning.

If there really was a danger of lead poisoning resulting from lead ammunition, it would be one thing. The fact that it is NOT true should be a wake-up call to all who value hunting AND our rights protected by the 2nd Amendment (which, BTW, has nothing to do with hunting.)

Whether you choose to believe it or not, there is an organized, dedicated group of bleeding hearts that see all guns (and most gun owners) as evil, and will stop at nothing in their quest to disarm the average citizen, and it is not limited to American citizens.

That doesn't include those who wish to disarm the general population for political reasons. Gun control is not about guns, it's about control. An unarmed populace is much easier to control. The founding generation knew this. While it might be next to impossible to disarm the American citizens, if they can make it more difficult to obtain or own firearms, and ammunition, it would have almost the same effect as disarming them.