LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Associated Press recently reported that wildlife agencies in the United States are finding elevated levels of toxic chemicals in our wildlife including gaming animals like
deer.

High levels of PFAS substances have been reported in many states including Michigan. In Michigan, deer season is in full swing with archery season running through November 14th and regular firearm season going from November 15th through the 30th.

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In 2021, almost 600,000 hunters participated in all three deer hunting seasons and most of those deer are eaten by the hunters who kill them, as well as family and friends. PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances), which have been in use since the 1950’s, are synthetic (manmade) chemical compounds, often referred to as the “forever chemical” because most don’t break down and others break down very slowly over time.

They are found in water, air and soil all over the nation and the planet. The EPA reports that it’s their strong carbon-fluorine bond that allows them to accumulate over time in the environment and in the bodies of animals and people.

PFAS are also considered to be “everywhere” chemicals because they seem to be in everything. They are used in all kinds of consumer, commercial and industrial products including nonstick cookware, clothing, cleaning products, firefighter foam, shampoos, dental floss, pizza boxes, candy wrappers, fast food containers and more.

Scientific studies show that exposure to PFAS has been linked to health problems in both animals and humans including cancers. Alarmingly, these chemicals can stay in a person’s bloodstream for life. Discovering PFAS in the animals that humans eat is causing some states to alert the public with “do not eat” advisories for fish and deer in their states.

Michigan had already started doing this in 2018.

Tammy Newcomb, senior executive director for the Michigan DNR, says that Michigan was one of the first states to assess PFAS in deer and the state issued it’s first “do not eat” advisory in 2018 for deer taken in and around Oscoda Township.

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Since that time, the Michigan DNR has also issued advisories against eating organs like liver and kidneys from deer and fish and other wild game in the entire state and their DNR website still has that advisory as they say that many chemicals, including PFAS, can accumulate in these organs.

The Michigan DNR, Michigan Dept. of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the Michigan Dept. of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) coordinate together to collect and test fish, white-tailed deer and other wild game for PFAS.

Currently, the warning not to eat white-tailed deer in the area around Clark’s Marsh in Oscoda Township still remains for the deer taken within three miles of the marsh. The ponds of Clark’s Marsh are where data collected by EGLE and others have shown chemicals to have contaminated the area after leaching through the sandy soil into the
groundwater. This marsh is a natural area near the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base which was closed in 1993.

Jennifer Hill, associate director of the Great Lakes Regional Center for the National Wildlife Federation says of the PFAS deer, “The fact there is an additional threat to the wildlife – the game that people are going out to hunt and fish – is a threat to those industries, and how people think about hunting and fishing.”