Consumption of lead contaminated meat shot with lead ammunition is a neglected source of potential lead exposure. The California condor was driven to the brink of extinction from eating lead-contaminated carrion and the NZ kea is facing declining numbers probably at least in part for the same reason.

Humans, too, are at risk. We identified a hunter whose blood lead level was 15X the recommended maximum from eating lead-contaminated meat and we have shown that almost 50% of meat packages destined for consumption have x-ray or chemical evidence of lead contamination. The solution is simple – ban the use of lead ammunition.