Small game animals are generally hunted with lead gunshot which often fragments causing elevated lead concentrations in meat and presenting health risks to frequent consumers and vulnerable groups. We reviewed three decades of European data on lead concentrations in the meat of gamebirds, rabbits and hares across countries with various restrictions on lead gunshot use. Mean meat lead concentrations decreased to a low level in Denmark, the only country in the study with a total ban on lead gunshot use. In contrast, elsewhere in Europe meat lead concentrations increased over time, an unexplained and previously undescribed finding. The only regulatory restriction associated with a decrease in meat lead concentrations was the Danish total ban on lead gunshot use. We calculated an arithmetic mean lead concentration in small game meat of 5.205 ppm w.w. (2011–2021) from across Europe. EU and UK regulators are considering banning lead ammunition for all hunting to protect human and wildlife health. The mean value we found for small game meat (2011–2021) was fourteen times higher than that used in a recent EU-wide risk assessment.

小型猎物通常用铅枪猎杀，铅通常会导致肉中铅浓度升高，并对经常食用的消费者和弱势群体构成健康风险。我们回顾了欧洲 30 年来关于在铅枪使用方面有各种限制的国家的猎鸟、兔子和野兔肉中铅浓度的数据。丹麦的平均肉类铅浓度降至较低水平，丹麦是该研究中唯一完全禁止使用铅枪的国家。相比之下，欧洲其他地方的肉类铅浓度随着时间的推移而增加，这是一个无法解释且以前未描述过的发现。与肉类铅浓度降低相关的唯一监管限制是丹麦全面禁止使用铅枪。我们计算出小型野味肉中铅的算术平均浓度为 5.205 ppm ww （2011-2021）来自欧洲各地。欧盟和英国监管机构正在考虑禁止在所有狩猎活动中使用含铅弹药，以保护人类和野生动物的健康。我们发现的小型野味肉（2011-2021 年）的平均值是最近欧盟范围内风险评估中使用的平均值的 14 倍。