Health parameters of three terrestrial wildlife species harvested by Innu hunters in Labrador, Canada, in relation to tissue concentrations of environmental contaminants

It has been shown that environmental contaminants such as metals and organochlorines (OC) have the potential to cause a wide range of negative health effects in numerous animal species.

The general purpose of this study was to assess, in collaboration with Innu hunters and their families, the health of important wildlife species harvested by Innu hunters in Labrador in relation to tissue concentrations of environmental contaminants measured in the animals.

Specific objectives included: identifying, through harvest surveys, wildlife species important to the community members; assessing the overall health of each species by measuring selected health parameters in animals killed during regular seasonal hunts; determining tissue concentrations of a variety of common environmental contaminants in the animals; and assessing the relationship between contaminant concentrations and health parameters for each species, using multiple regression analyses. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).