How to reduce risks while cleaning animals?

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turtle4123

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Hello, folks. What precautions do you take to reduce your chance of contracting diseases while gutting animals?

I appreciate all of your inputs.
 
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I wash my hands when I’m done

There’s virtually nothing to be concerned about especially if it’s an animal you are going to be eating
 
The only thing I would be concerned about is tularemia, you can get it from rabbits if they have it. If the have spotty looking livers they could have it. I wear nitrile gloves when gutting and skinning rabbits. All game actually, I always have boxes of gloves in the shop so it’s easy to have a small ziplock bag of them in my field dressing kit. I change them if I nick or tear them and I’m careful with my knife while gutting as not to cut myself.

I’ve worn gloves at work for a couple decades so I’m pretty used to wearing them,
 
people have been killing animals for food from the beginning of time, if you are worried about diseases maybe you should become a vegie eater LMFAO.
 
Valid question. In my experience an animal that has lived and breathed Mother Nature's best clean air available is nothing to worry about. You should feel more confident eating something you shot than something you bought. No hormones, residual antibiotics or medications. Don't fool yourself, the animals won't willingly eat stuff that tastes bad.

But, some wild cervids have Chronic Wasting Disease and the general advice is to avoid contaminating the meat with cerebral spinal fluid. That is simple with deer - leave the head and spinal column intact (with the hide attached) until the last step. Hang the deer or elk by its back tendons, and butcher first. The appropriate Wildlife Dept can advise if there are risky areas.

Some moose get a brain worm from deer (or is it the other way around?). It is a parasite that makes them stupid. Same precautions.

The other one to watch for is a bear that has been eating at the garbage dump versus one that is feeding in the wild. Don't hope to get good cuts off a bear you shoot anywhere close to a dump.

Bottom line - if it looks diseased, don't shoot it. The coyotes and bears need to eat for their strength, and they don't have the interwebs for advice.
 
I don't worry about it. Wore surgical gloves once as a trial and they filled with blood.

It's cleaner without them, just wipe your hands on grass, branches or even dirt after.
 
I always wear medical gloves while gutting any game animal. You probably will be more in danger from cutting yourself by accident with your own knife. Tetanus shot. A booster if required.

Distance yourself asap from the hide as fleas and ticks (Lyme disease) quickly try to find a warmer host.
 
It’s a legitimate risk and people do indeed get sick from it. Not often but it happens so don’t let the “pretend it doesn’t exist replies” stop you from taking precautions.

Really if you have no open wounds on your hands don’t cut yourself in the process and wash with soap and water after the risk is minimal. I for one always have nicks on my hands so I wear nitrile gloves and still try to wash after

Meateater did a good podcast episode on animal disease probably a year or so ago. Worth a listen for those who want to know what they are talking about. Not worth a listen if you just want to be tough and keep taking your chances
 
FishHog said:
It’s a legitimate risk and people do indeed get sick from it. Not often but it happens so don’t let the “pretend it doesn’t exist replies” stop you from taking precautions.

Really if you have no open wounds on your hands don’t cut yourself in the process and wash with soap and water after the risk is minimal. I for one always have nicks on my hands so I wear nitrile gloves and still try to wash after

Meateater did a good podcast episode on animal disease probably a year or so ago. Worth a listen for those who want to know what they are talking about. Not worth a listen if you just want to be tough and keep taking your chances
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It's not about being tough and taking chances. It's acknowledging there's such a miniscule risk that it's not worth the effort to put gloves on. The combined number of animals taken by my circle of hunting friends and family is well into the tens of thousands with zero reports of any health issues from field dressing animals without gloves.

You're more likely to get hit by lightning on a sunny day...
 
Used surgical gloves and switched to the long orange gloves when they came on the market with medical gloves under and over to add strength. Both work but surgical glove first is better.
Cutting or puncturing one is possible but you might be too careless cutting both!
Before, when using grass or alfalfa to wipe off the blood, the fine scratches would develop red lines.
That was explained as an allergic reaction.
Access to the shoulder length gloves veterinarians use is an option.
 
As stated prior to my post - if an animal looks ill, don't shoot it. When butchering I don't wear gloves and I wipe my hands on my pants. Sometimes I will eat a piece of raw liver from a deer or moose, provided that it looks healthy.
 
canadian hunter312 said:
It's not about being tough and taking chances. It's acknowledging there's such a miniscule risk that it's not worth the effort to put gloves on. The combined number of animals taken by my circle of hunting friends and family is well into the tens of thousands with zero reports of any health issues from field dressing animals without gloves.

You're more likely to get hit by lightning on a sunny day...
Click to expand...

Well we all have to make the decision for ourselves. The effort to put gloves on is pretty minimal in my books.
 
I'm more worried about ticks and Lyme. I'm sure I got Lyme disease from skinning a few deer in November of 1999. It took 10 years to get diagnosed and it still haunts me. I never saw the tic or rash.
 
FishHog said:
Well we all have to make the decision for ourselves. The effort to put gloves on is pretty minimal in my books.
Click to expand...

Cross transfer is very possible. By not wearing gloves one could very easily infect your dog, child or the elderly and not even realize your bare hands are carrying a parasite or its eggs. Most wild game diseases are mostly easily passed onto our pets such as dogs and cats. At the very least you are quite possibly saving your beloved puppy.

Nitrile gloves currently cost $16.99 per 100.
 
theDuck said:
I'm more worried about ticks and Lyme. I'm sure I got Lyme disease from skinning a few deer in November of 1999. It took 10 years to get diagnosed and it still haunts me. I never saw the tic or rash.
Click to expand...

After successful hunt I hang my hunting coat outside on clothesline for 48-72 hours. Rain or shine.
Rest of clothing machine wash hot water and hot dryer.
Too easy.
 
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