Hunters have been reported to be at a tight corner as Massey University wildlife veterinarians have expressed that the use of lead shot during hunting has an adverse effect on many ‘native species’, and has called for its ban.

Also, the consumption of game meat, as revealed overseas, leads to hunters' families having higher blood lead concentrations than the others and may cause’ systemic, cognitive, and behavioral disorders’.

Dr. Kerri Morgan revealed that Wildlife Health Centre is treating an increasing number of native species, with high lead levels. “Their legs are rigid and their feet are clenched and they found out that there were high levels in these patients, which indicates that lead is contributing”.

However, a research on lead by Dr. Morgan and her colleagues analyzed 25 harriers admitted to the Wildlife Health Centre and discovered 44% of them had high blood lead concentrations, as six of the birds had ‘clenched claw paralysis’.

Lead shot is reported to be presently banned within 200 meters of a waterway, though Dr. Morgan has stated, “Its presence elsewhere makes it hard to keep out of the food chain, and once lead is in the food chain, other scavenging birds such as giant petrels and gulls are also at risk”.