Sick animals? How to tell if safe to eat?

[SirRobin77]

Ok this may be a stupid question but how can you tell if a animal is safe to eat as far as sickness goes? Anyone had a problem with this?Ill be hunting hogs and deer.
Thanks Matt

[owlbait]

I'd say that if the internal organs or membranes are discolored or abnormal in texture, color, or in anyway, don't take a chance. If the animal is acting strange before you shoot, take care in field dressing, and examine the animal for parasites such as heavy tick infestation. In Michigan our DNR has pictures of TB in the cavity of whitetails so you have an idea of what that looks like. Good luck. I usually have to shoot the dumb, deaf, or sick ones in order to use my tags!

[ChuckC]

owl....  problem with that is....  what color and texture is a deers insides ?
ChuckC

[Brian Krebs]

If I had the guts to do it; I would show you.

[ChuckC]

Aw Brian.... are you telling me you don't have the guts ?         Does that make you   " gutless"  

OK  this can go too far, but it was a funny comment  thanks Brian
ChuckC

[Benjy]

I'm not eating it if the deer is acting sick!!

[owlbait]

Should be pictures somewhere that shows normal vs. abnormal. Guess I've seen so many over the years I just take it for granted that everyone would know. Sorry bout that.

[BigRonHuntAlot]

The question you need to answer is ...

 Is it worth it to take a chance on getting sick?  I choose to let all of the meat go from a buck a few years back after/ during the skinning process finding an abcessed front shoulder from a previous shot injury.   I just didnt want to take the chance on our familys health.

[SirRobin77]

So if the game is eat with ticks eating its a no no?

[Gordon martiniuk]

I allways look at the Liver if it is green or has any runny fluid comeing from it be wary and get a second advice I allways cut the liver open and look for spots

[Toecutter]

I second Gordon's sentiments on the liver.  I was a wildlife biologist back in NY in a previous life, and one time I had a guy bring in a deer that had been hit pretty hard by a car and besides being a little beat up, its antler had broken loose, taking that portion of skull with it. Well surprisingly enough, that buck had gotten on for a little while like that and developed a nasty infection in that area that swelled up like the size of a baseball.

I immediately recomended a new tag, but this gentleman would have none of it.  Said he got his venison and didn't want to go out in the cold anymore!!     Basically he just wanted me to tell him it was ok to eat.  After going back and forth with him on the unfit for consumption Idea, I started playing with the loose antler.  Wouldn't you know it, a big old shot of the greenest goo you ever did see (almost as green as that stuff Bowspirit swam in!!) Came shooting out in a stream across the bed of this guys truck.  Funny, he seemed to have a strange change of heart at the sight of that green stuff, not sure what he thought was in that big old swollen knot in the first place.  Moral of this long and windy story is, If you have even the slightest inkling that something might be wrong with an animal, DO NOT eat it!  From the animals that I've seen that were close to death with infection, they looked like they were squinting with pain (and some swelling around the eyes), seems to be a common sign of pain in most animals I guess. Like Gordon said already though, the liver is the big (and easiest) one to check if there is no visible wound.  In any  case, don't eat it if you aren't 100% sure!  
  Don't know about you, but I do a lot of game dinners for friends that don't hunt, and I don't know what I'd do if I got some or all of my guests sick or worse.  

Good luck and have a great season.
Nathan

[Brian Krebs]

SirRobin77
    If you noticed Toecutters entry; he said 'one time' and that pretty much says it.
 I am sure as a biologist he had occasion to see lots of other sick animals.
 But I don't think it is anything to put to much worry into.
 I have killed a lot of deer etc; and worked processing game; and it is really rare to find a sick animal.
 Deer and elk might have wounds that are healing; but unless you have a problem with a specific disease where your hunting; the chances are slim your going to run into any problems.
 You can get protective gloves to wear while field dressing; and that will protect you from most illness.
  Deer; elk and other animals get sick; and they die pretty fast. No animal hospitals out there.
  If they get sick they will most often lay down; and stay there and die.
  So; seeing an animal that is sick and killing it; is not up there on the list of things we tend to worry about.... unless your in an area with a specific problem. In that case; do some research; call your fish and game and ask what to look for and what to do if you have exposed yourself to a pathogen of some kind.
  Small game is more likely to have illnesses- for rabbits wear surgical gloves when handling them. You can just turn the rabbit belly side up and make a single incision to expose the liver.
 A healthy rabbit will have a consistant color and it will be very dark red.
 Fat rabbits often have fat deposits; which are going to be round looking and not at all the color of the liver.
 Rabbits do get tularemia ; and that will make the liver look not so deep red; and there will be spots on it- but the rabbit will be sick; and the liver will look like it. It will be not filled out ( like inflated and solid) but will be shrunken and shriveled and yellowish looking; and may be spotted. But you should be able to look at one rabbit that is healthy to have a reference as to what 'normal' is.
  Same for deer and other animals; if you can find a hunter that will let you see them gut an animal... you should be able to tell what is 'normal' looking.
  Wounds that are infected can cause the infection to spread throughout the animal; and the meat will be tainted.
  If you do find the grossly defined infection described above- then tag the deer and go and get fish and game - as in immediately.
  If there is nothing wrong with the deer; the officers will not be happy if you let it rot.
  If on the other hand - the deer is sick; and the meat questionable; they will most often give you another tag.
  I cannot promise that; but its better to have tagged the animal and tried to save the meat; than to waste it... and perhaps lose your license.
  I was a deputy sheriff in Michigan and there; the person who hits a deer with a car got the deer; and then they could pass that right to the next person on the scene; and then it was up to the reporting officer to decide.
  During the rut; does will intentionally run in front of vehicles to try and put distance between the pursuing buck and it ( actual time a doe will breed is very short).
 So; I would come home to 5 or 6 deer a night in my driveway - left by deputies that didn't want the meat wasted.
 In all the seasons I processed game from car kills I never had one with any disease. I might have lost all the meat but a handful to the injuries sustained in the accident... but I assure you that nobody - friend or foe- went without venison on the table for very long.
 And nobody got sick from it.
I am not familiar at all with chronic wasting disease; or other factors that hunters might be facing and how they deal with it.
 That is best addressed by talking to people in the area you intend to hunt in.
 Venison is good for you; low in fat; high in protein; and not full of antibiotics and other stuff found in beef and other domestic animals.
 So; don't be afraid to hunt because of horror stories; or lack of knowledge about diseases.
 Do some homework; and you should have good meals all winter long.


   ChuckC - I have no idea why some people think humor is funny. I asked god for a cast iron stomach - so I could eat anything...and he gave me a pot belly instead.......  

[Don Stokes]

SirRobin, it's OK to eat a deer that has ticks if there's no other problem evident. Where populations are high, all of them will have ticks.

Re old wounds, if there's no active infection, just trim the scarred areas out. I killed and ate four deer before I finally killed one that had never been wounded. Buckshot sucks.