# shot birds,is it safe to consume?

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-birds-is-it-safe-to-consume/306865
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 4, 2005, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-birds-is-it-safe-to-consume/306865 "2005-06-04T12:14:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![formyignorance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/85f322/32.png) [@formyignorance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/formyignorance)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2005, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-birds-is-it-safe-to-consume/306865/1 "2005-06-04T12:14:53Z")

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Hi there 🙂 around my area,i know lot’s of people who enjoy shooting birds,rather then wasting them we would bring it home and cook’em,my question is,is it safe to consume pigeons,ducks etc after shooting them down ? because what i know that the pellets inside a shotgun shells is made out of lead.Sorry english not to good.

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### Author: ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2005, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-birds-is-it-safe-to-consume/306865/2 "2005-06-04T12:24:43Z")

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You can (and should!) buy lead-free shot (it’s made from molybdenum, which is dense like lead but non-toxic). Dig in!

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### Author: ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2005, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-birds-is-it-safe-to-consume/306865/3 "2005-06-04T12:28:00Z")

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Just be polite…don’t spit out the shot.

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### Author: ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2005, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-birds-is-it-safe-to-consume/306865/4 "2005-06-04T12:29:13Z")

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Most shotgun shot is made of steel in the US and Canada, [as lead shot is banned:](http://science.howstuffworks.com/shotgun9.htm)

> [@](#):
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> Until the early 1990s, most shot was made of lead. As environmentalists studied its effect on the ecosphere, they found that the spent lead shot hunters left in waterways and forests had harmful effects on wildlife and risked contamination of drinking water. Lead shot has been banned from waterfowl hunting in the United States since 1992, and various types of steel and alloy shot have taken its place.

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### Author: ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2005, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-birds-is-it-safe-to-consume/306865/5 "2005-06-04T23:21:03Z")

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Safe? Well, maybe, if you **chew very carefully.** I broke a filling on a pheasant, and I no longer eat anything bagged with a shotgun. You can have my share.

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### Author: ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-birds-is-it-safe-to-consume/306865/6 "2005-06-05T00:17:19Z")

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As **Asknott** indicated, you should chew carefully. I’ve eaten pheasant that still had pellets many times: you chew carefully, and put the pellets first on your fork and then on the side of your plate. It is, of course, good manners to inform your guests that they may find shotgun pellets.