Lead in Venison

Use caution when consuming venison harvested with lead ammunition.

Lead ammunition can break apart when it hits a deer, leaving behind tiny fragments in the meat.

Most lead fragments are found in the meat near the wound channel, but some can spread farther. Trimming extra meat around the wound channel can help reduce your risk.

Grinding or processing venison can spread any fragments throughout the meat. This means that ground venison from a deer shot with lead ammunition may carry a higher risk of lead exposure. These fragments are often too small to see or feel while chewing.

Lead is toxic to humans, even in very low amounts. Children under six years old and pregnant women face the highest risk of health problems if exposed.

Hunt lead-safe!

The only way to eliminate any potential risks from lead ammunition is to hunt with lead-free bullets, such as copper ammunition.

Other lead-safe steps

If you do use lead ammunition, there are still steps you can take to reduce your risk of lead poisoning:

• Use ammunition that fragments less, such as:
  • Bonded bullets.
  • Controlled expansion bullets.
  • Shotgun slugs.
  • Muzzleloader bullets.
• Practice shooting your firearm to understand how your ammunition performs.
• Place your shot carefully:
  • Avoid hitting bone. This can cause a bullet to fragment more.
  • Only shoot when you have a good rest for your firearm.
  • Wait until the deer is broadside and still.
  • Don't shoot at running deer.
• Always trim a distance away from the wound channel.
• Discard any meat that:
  • Is bruised or discolored.
  • Contains hair, dirt, bone fragments, or grass.
• Minimize rinsing around the wound channel. Rinsing can spread lead fragments.
• Choose whole cuts of meat over ground meat if you don’t know how the meat was harvested.
• Avoid consuming internal organs, which can contain extra lead from heart or lung shots. Internal organs can also expose you to other environmental contaminants, like PFAS.

Additional resources

• Safely Eating Venison (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources)
• Safe Venison Handling to Prevent Illness or Injury brochure (Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection)
• Lead Bullets and Venison: What Every Hunting Family Should Know fact sheet (Michigan Department of Health and Human Services)
• Lead information for deer hunters (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources)
• Sources of Lead