Game meat and lead exposure: risk perceptions and realities in hunters, consumers and their dogs.
Over the past decades, the growing populations of wild ungulates have led to a greater availability of wild game meat.
Although national per capita consumption remains low, game meat has gained increasing popularity among consumers for its perceived nutritional quality, environmental sustainability, and ethical value.
However, this trend also raises significant food safety concerns, particularly related to the use of lead-based ammunition in hunting activities.
When a lead bullet impacts a wild animal, it can fragment into microscopic particles that spread throughout the tissues and remain invisible even after careful trimming.
Consequently, lead residues may persist in game meat and offal consumed by hunters, consumers, and their dogs, resulting in chronic dietary exposure.
Various studies from other European countries have demonstrated that game meat hunted with lead ammunition often exceeds the legal limits established for farmed meat, and that habitual consumers—especially hunters and their families—tend to show higher blood lead levels than the general population.
Chronic lead exposure has been associated with kidney and cardiovascular disorders, neurodevelopmental deficits in children and foetuses, and reproductive problems in adults.
At the same time, hunting dogs and pets fed with game meat by-products or pet food are exposed to similar risks, with several studies reporting elevated blood lead concentrations and detectable metal fragments in commercial products.
Despite the increasing availability of non-toxic ammunition, its adoption in Italy remains limited, hindered by cultural attachment to traditional hunting practices, technical concerns about ballistic performance, and economic constraints.
Hunters therefore represent not only a risk group, but also essential stakeholders in the transition toward safer and more sustainable hunting practices.
Understanding their awareness, perceptions, and motivations is crucial to fostering behavioural change and improving risk communication.
This PhD project aims to investigate both the perceived and actual risks of lead exposure in hunters, consumers, and their dogs.
Structured questionnaires will assess hunters’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours concerning the use of lead and non-lead ammunition, meat consumption habits, and feeding practices for hunting dogs.
Parallel surveys will explore consumers’ perceptions of game meat safety and their awareness of lead-related risks. Laboratory analyses will complement these data by quantifying lead concentrations in game meat used for both humans and dogs consumption, and by measuring blood lead levels in hunting and pet dogs.
By comparing perceived risks with actual contamination levels, this multidisciplinary approach will contribute to new insights into the human–animal interface.
The findings will inform evidence-based recommendations for risk communication, consumer education, and policy development, ultimately supporting a safer, more informed, and sustainable integration of wild game meat into the Italian food system—balancing cultural traditions with health protection and environmental responsibility.
Game meat and lead exposure: risk perceptions and realities in hunters, consumers and their dogs.
Master’s Degree in Veterinary Medicine at University of Milan (UNIMI), with the final evaluation of 110/110 cum laude.
Thesis on the haematological evaluation of Testudo hermanni with the validation of an automated hematological cell count and reference intervals.
Two Postgraduate Fellowship periods in the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences (Lodi, UNIMI), for Regione Lombardia’s projects titled: “Programma sperimentale relativo alla gestione della specie esotica invasiva testuggine palustre americana Trachemys scripta” and “Spillover e altri rischi emergenti”.
Collaboration with Studio associato AlpVet as a wildlife technician.
Third year-specialist in “Tecnologia e Patologia Aviare, Cunicola e della Selvaggina” at University of Milan (UNIMI).
Member of SIEF (Società Italiana di Ecopatologia della Fauna) and SIVAE (Società Italiana Veterinari di Animali Esotici).
Main interests in wildlife, hunted game meat and invasive alien species.
Publications: Orcid
Supervisor Prof. Eugenio Demartini
Co-supervisor Dr. Maria Elena Marescotti
