Sir, – Your article (D&S, October 26, Game fans warned over lead content) would appear to be based on a campaign by the Wildfowl Wetlands Trust to see all lead ammunition banned.

The WWT has bypassed the government consultation on lead shot and concentrated on a “food scare”, claiming that humans could be poisoned by eating game.

WWT lobbied the Food Standard Agency and as a result the FSA has published an “advice note” on their website.

Authoritative research by the European Food Safety Authority has shown that, pound for pound, chocolate contains one pc more lead than found in game, and potatoes contribute almost 70 times more to total lead exposure than game meat. A much fuller report on this topic and a detailed report on the research carried out by the EFSA together with its conclusions are contained in a recent article on this topic in the Shooting Press.

It will not be possible to reprint the enclosed article which details this research information, but perhaps a little more care should be taken before such “scares” are published by Environmental Health Officers, without any checks as to the correctness of the information.

NAME AND ADDRESS WITHHELD