Like something out of an episode of CSI, researchers at the University of Saskatchewan shot bullets into blocks of ballistic gelatin, which is also used by law enforcement for ballistic testing, in order to examine the fragments using synchrotron imaging.

What they found is that the lead in some bullets used for hunting deer, moose and elk is toxic to humans who eat the meat as well as for the animals drawn to the remains left in the field.

The researchers goal was to study both the size and spread of bullet fragments in big game shot by hunters.

Leader author on the study, Dr. Adam Leontowich, who is a hunter himself, says he was surprised that bullets could produce hundreds of lead fragments.

“But I was surprised to see that the fragments can go down to the size of a single human blood cell.”

Researchers studying this issue have relied on medical radiography, which cannot distinguish lead from other materials used in ammunition or accurately measure fragments that small.

The opening of hunting season varies depending on what zone you are in Saskatchewan but hunting season opens early next month for big game in some more northerly areas of the province.

The researchers hope their findings will convince big game hunters to switch to bullets made of non-toxic materials such as copper and to save the lead bullets for target practice.  Some countries like Sweden and Denmark, as well as the state of California, have banned lead rifle ammunition for hunting. In Canada, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island included warnings about the health and environmental risks of lead bullets in their 2021-22 hunting regulation handbooks.