Diseased Critters

[The Government]

I have never eaten a wild squirrel or rabbit (sadly), but it is never too late to start.

I need to understand the "disease factor" with eating these little critters. I have heard endless rumors, that back in the day people had to stop eating squirrels and rabbits because they were diseased.

And so i ask you, those who have experience...

What can you do to make sure you will not become infected or affected by said diseased critters, especially if you want to eat them?


Thanks all:thumbup:

 

[Calebklyne]

i know that rabbit is not great for you as it has an extremely low fat/calorie content meaning you exert more energy eating it than you get from it and as the old native saying goes man can die of starvation by eating rabbit

 

[sodak]

For rabbits, you have to be careful of a disease they can get called Tularemia (sp?). You check the liver, if it has spots, get rid of that rabbit - no good. I don't know about squirrels.

They probably both have fleas in case you have to be careful of the hanta virus...

 

[Shoki]

i know that rabbit is not great for you as it has an extremely low fat/calorie content meaning you exert more energy eating it than you get from it and as the old native saying goes man can die of starvation by eating rabbit

Rabbit: The Slim-fast of survival foods.

I've never heard of rabbits and squirrels being especially diseased or more diseased than other critters. Maybe it comes from the fact that they are often considered vermin and therefore should not be eaten. I think I'd be more worried about undercooked pork than I would be about eating rabbit.

 

[kr1]

My opinion, and its just that is. Most nasty diseases that animals have or parasites can be killed by proper cooking. Exceptions to that are things like mad cow disease and chronic wasting disease. But the good news is that mad cow is a brain disease. As such, as far as I understand, it cannot pass the blood brain barrier. So I won’t eat the brain, or spinal cord. I also will not eat any organs. I know that is sacrilege to some but to me, I personally won’t take the risk. The odds are low that anything would happen but unless it was a survival situation I personally would not eat animal organs to include the brain or spine.

Again, I won’t insist that this will fully protect you, nor would I insist that it is actually necessary to take these actions, its just the way I have decided to deal with it.

KR

 

[forestnomad]

It's a good idea to use gloves while cleaning critters such as rabbits and squirrels... I'm pretty sure both species can carry tularemia. As I understand it, hanta virus is only a risk if you're breathing in the air around feces or nesting materials... though I may be wrong. If you're out West, you might want to check if there is bubonic plague in your area, rodents including rabbit and squirrel can carry it. To get rid of fleas, just let the critters sit on the ground for a bit after you dispatch them, all the fleas and ticks will leave the body once it's cold.

 

[The Government]

For rabbits, you have to be careful of a disease they can get called Tularemia (sp?). You check the liver, if it has spots, get rid of that rabbit - no good. I don't know about squirrels.

They probably both have fleas in case you have to be careful of the hanta virus...

Thanks, that is what it was called.

Here is a wiki page that talks about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tularemia#Treatment_and_prevention

I am going to read it right now...

 

[kr1]

The problem with rabbits and what is called rabbit starvation is nothing wrong with the rabbits. It has to do with the fact that there is such little fat in rabbits that the protein cannot be broken down and used by the body in a survival situation. Leading to what is called rabbit starvation.

Hanta virus is actually found in the urine in some mice and is only a problem, as far as I know, when the urine dries and then by an action such as by sweeping it is swept into the air in an aerosol with the dried urine and the virus is inhaled.

And I also agree. I now have sets of my EMT gloves in my hunting kits to use when I gut and skin game.


KR

 

[The Government]

Read the wiki document to learn about Tularemia. From what I understand, Rabbits and squirrels can host the disease (through insects???). Here is a quote from wiki on how it is contagious:

"Tularemia may also be spread by direct contact with contaminated animals or material, by ingestion of poorly cooked flesh of infected animals or contaminated water, or by inhalation."

It seems that the best thing to do would be to handle the kill with gloves, not breath deeply around it, put it to the flame, cook very well, singe your possibly infected gloves, and eat.

Is that too much trouble? I really dont want to catch something called tularemia. Death is a possible outcome.

 

[paleojoe]

Do not put to flame.
Stew rabbit. Bones included. As said, they are lean animals. You want as much as possible from them. Roasting them over fire causes what little there is to drop into the fire. Stewing gets it all in there, marrow too...

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Just a heads up - ticks also can spread tularemia.

Doc

 

[sodak]

Well THIS is a very uplifting thread! Touch that rabbit and die!

I would think that if you let it cool so the fleas jump ship, and only shoot healthy ones - and check the liver, you should probably be ok. But I've never hunted rabbit much either. To me, they're like crawdads, too much work for what you get.

 

[squishware]

"In the United States, although records show that tularemia was never particularly common, incidence rates continued to drop over the course of the 20th century so that between 1990 and 2000, the rate was less than 1 per 1,000,000, meaning the disease is extremely rare in the US today." - Wikipedia Quote

 

[Toucan Oasis]

I eat Wabbitz about twice a week. HOWEVER.
I have a breeding program, few animals, and good sanitation.
"Wabbit starvation", as stated, is from lack of fat.
Green bean casserole, with mushroom gravy ,baked with bacon strips up top cures the 'problem"

 

[August West]

I have been eating rabbits and squirrels literally all my life, I am 42. The picture below is from yesterday, he is cleaned and soaking in buttermilk for frying right now. Most of my family does the same as well as most of the people in the rural community I was raised. I have never been sick or heard of anyone being sick. Just like eating farm raised animals you have to use some common sense. If the animal has any physical problems, lesions, loss of hair, internals don't look right, I would not eat it. If the animal was not acting right when killed I would not eat it. Also most of my wild meat I cook thorough, the exception is deer, duck and dove, which I like a little rarer. To sum up I think eating wild game is a great way to get in touch with your roots, without game you wouldn't be here, and hunting in general is a great hobby, please don't let scare tactics keep you from trying. Chris

 

[THE PUNISHER]

trees ratz,fun to hunt and eat,plus it will sharpen your skills,this time of year with a 22 iron sights....

 

[dipbait]

like August said. Folks here hunt. I have never heard of anyone getting sick from eating rabbits or squirrels. Now the folks in Arkansas eat squirrel brains. Supposedly, that did spread some sort of disease. They have been cautioned not too.

 

[SIXFOOTER]

Rabits also get a worm called a WOLF. You can see it in the flesh, looks like a bruise, but it doesn't hurt the meat. Any month with an R they are supposed to be good. East Texas lore

 

[hollowdweller]

cook well and don't eat the brains

Spongiform encephalopathies have been reported in a variety of large and small mammals.1 While conducting a study of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in south Florida, one of us (JRB) observed an affected patient who was originally a native of Kentucky and had a history of eating squirrel brains. Dietary transmission of prion diseases has been documented experimentally in animals2 and in human beings who are cannibals.3 Several case reports have suggested the possibility of transmission of CJD by consumption of brains of wild animals.4 These observations, together with recent concerns about the transmission of a unique encephalopathy in man believed to be related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy5 led us to examine the possible association of eating squirrel brains with CJD in rural Kentucky, where eating squirrel and other small game is not uncommon.
Culinary preparations include scrambling the brains with eggs or putting them in a meat and vegetable stew referred to as "burgoo". A history of eating squirrel brains was obtained from family members of all five patients with probable or definite CJD seen over 3,5 years in a neurocognitive clinic in western Kentucky. Two women and three men aged from 56 to 78 years (mean 68.2 years) were affected. None were related and each lived in a different town. Eating squirrel brains was reported among 12 of 42 patients with Parkinson's disease seen in the same clinic and 27 of 100 age-matched controls without neurological disease living in western Kentucky. Ataxia early in the course of the disease was seen in four of the patients with CJD and myoclonus and periodic complexes on the electroencephalogram were seen in all.

Death occurred within 1 year in four, whereas, survival exceeded 3 years from the onset of symptoms in one patient. Analysis of codon 129 of the prion protein gene was not done. This observation will require confirmation by studies of larger populations, and a search for a scrapie agent in the brains of squirrels, which have not heretofore been reported as having spongiform encephalopathies. In the meantime caution might be exercised in the ingestion of this arboreal rodent.

1 Prusiner SB. Genetic and infectious prion diseases. Arch Neurol 1993; 50: 1129�53.

2 Gibbs DJ Jr, Amyx HL, Bacote A, Masters C, Gajdusek DC. Oral transmission of kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and scrapie to nonhuman primates. J Infect Dis 1980; 142: 205�08.

3 Gajdusek DC. Unconventional viruses and the origin and disappearance of kuru. Science 1977; 197: 943�60.

4 Kamin M, Patten BM. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: possible transmission to humans by consumption of wild animal brains. Am J Med 1984; 76: 142�45. 5 Will RG, Ironside JW, Ziedler M, et al. A new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the UK. Lancet 1996; 347: 921�25.

Interesting note: My grandfather died of Parkinsons and loved squirrel brains. However he also worked in a chemical plant and multiple chemical exposure is also linked to Parkinsons.

 

[shecky]

Rabits also get a worm called a WOLF. You can see it in the flesh, looks like a bruise, but it doesn't hurt the meat. Any month with an R they are supposed to be good. East Texas lore

Around here, we call them warbles. They're bot fly larva that presumably don't affect the surrounding meat. But if you've ever seen them, you'll likely be repulsed enough to just toss the whole critter.