Dog owners could be putting their pets at risk if they regularly feed them a certain type of raw meat, researchers have warned.
Testing conducted by Cambridge University revealed dangerously high levels of lead in dog food products being sold in the UK.
Although lead shot can be legally used for hunting pheasant, researchers found 77% of samples had lead concentrations exceeding the maximum residue level (MRL) permitted in animal feed when they analysed 90 samples taken from three raw pheasant dog food products bought in the UK.
The research comes as the popularity of raw meat diets for pets is increasing in the UK. The experts found raw pheasant pet food was sold by 34% of the 50 online raw pet food suppliers they checked – and 71% said they may contain shot.
Researchers suggested the high levels could be caused by mincing, as this might fragment lead shot, which can increase chances that lead will be absorbed into the bloodstream.
As such, dogs fed meat with high concentrations of lead are at risk, and puppies are particularly vulnerable because of the impacts on health.
Alongside the raw pheasant dog food, researchers assessed three equivalent chicken-based products. None of the samples from the chicken-based pet food contained unacceptable levels of lead.
Commenting on the results, lead author Professor Debbie Pain of Cambridge's Zoology Department said: "We were already aware that lead concentrations in pheasant meat sold for human consumption are often far higher than would be permitted in other meats like chicken, beef or pork.
"However, we were surprised to find that lead concentrations in raw pheasant dog food products were so much higher."
Co-author Professor Rhys Green said the results from the 'randomly sampled' products suggest 'this is a far broader issue'. "However, some producers may source pheasants that have not been shot with lead, and owners could ask about this when buying pet food."
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