Acta Vet. Brno 2026, 95: 39-44
Mercury as a contaminant in small ruminants
This study evaluates the total mercury content in liver, kidneys, and muscle of small ruminants during the monitoring programme in the Czech Republic from 2014 to 2023. Significantly the highest mean (P < 0.05) mercury content in sheep (n = 23) was found in the kidneys (5.0 ± 0.6 µg/kg) and liver (4.8 ± 1.0 µg/kg) in comparison to the muscle (0.5 ± 0.0 µg/kg). In lambs (n = 7), a significantly higher mean (P < 0.05) mercury content was found in the kidneys (6.4 ± 2.8 µg/kg) and liver (4.3 ± 0.9 µg/kg) in comparison to the muscle (0.5 ± 0.1 µg/kg). No significant difference in mercury content was found between the liver and kidneys in either sheep or lambs (P ˃ 0.05). In the case of goats (n = 11), the kidneys (3.5 ± 0.9 µg/kg) exhibited a significantly higher mean mercury concentration than the liver (1.7 ± 0.7 µg/kg) and muscle (0.4 ± 0.1 µg/kg). The difference in mercury concentration between the kidneys and the other two tissues was found to be significant (P < 0.05 in both comparisons); however, the mercury concentration in the liver and muscle did not differ significantly (P ˃ 0.05). The maximum residual limit for human consumption, as set by the Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, was not exceeded in any sheep and goat sample during the period 2014–2023 in the Czech Republic. In analysed samples, the mercury content was 10 times lower than the limit. There was no significant increase in mercury content in sheep and goat tissues during the monitored years.
Keywords
Heavy metals, sheep, lambs, goats.
Funding
This work was financially supported by the grant 2024ITA26 VETUNI. The authors would like to express their gratitude to the State Veterinary Administration for providing their data.
