The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, is issuing a “Do Not Eat Wildlife Consumption Advisory,” for a new area. The area includes portions of the towns of Knox, Thorndike and Unity.
This new advisory area is in addition to the current advisory areas in portions of the towns of Fairfield, Skowhegan, Unity, Unity Township, Albion, Freedom, Knox and Thorndike.
For a map of all “Do Not Eat Wildlife Consumption Advisory” areas, go HERE.
From the MDIFW:
The new consumption advisory area is based upon the testing of deer and turkeys in eastern Kennebec and western Waldo counties for the presence of PFAS. The Department has sampled wildlife for PFAS throughout the Unity/Thorndike/Albion area, and it was found that wildlife sampled within a mile of areas with high soil PFAS concentration levels resulted in animals that had levels of PFAS in their muscle tissue that warranted an advisory. The Department and the Maine CDC recommend that no one eats deer or wild turkey harvested in these wildlife consumption advisory areas. MDIFW issued the first wildlife consumption advisory in 2021, and added to that in 2024. The new advisory areas are a result of extensive wildlife sampling in the eastern Kennebec and western Waldo counties in order to examine the impact of PFAS on wildlife in the area. The wildlife advisory areas encompass multiple areas that have been contaminated by high levels of PFAS through the spreading of municipal and/or industrial sludge that contained PFAS. Deer and turkey feeding in these contaminated areas have ingested these chemicals and now have PFAS in their meat and organs. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been used for decades in a variety of household and consumer products, including non-stick cookware, carpet, waterproof clothing, and food packaging products such as pizza boxes and microwave popcorn bags. Known as “forever chemicals” since they are very slow to break down, PFAS persist in the environment and are found in soil, water, plants, and animals. Over time, exposure to these chemicals has been known to increase the risk of some types of cancer, decrease infant and fetal growth, increase cholesterol levels, and impair the immune system.
For more information on PFAS and wildlife, go HERE.
If you have questions about possible health effects from eating deer harvested in the advisory area, please contact a toxicologist at the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention at 866-292-3474 (toll-free in Maine) or 207-287-4311.
For more information on PFAS, visit the Maine DEP PFAS informational page.
Latest Local Eastern & Central Maine News
