Rabbits and parasites

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762Russian

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Been a long time since I'd gone hunting for a meal- out here all I had time and energy for was the occasional gopher shoot, and you tend to not want to eat those. Only other things I've hunted were birds, and that was ages past

Today though, I was out taking care of my brother's place while he was away and he gave me permission to take care of the two rabbits that had been messing up his garden. My Titan NP took them down quickly ad quietly, but now I am looking at these two bunnies in my game bag and I can't help but notice that they have a helluva lot of black things crawling all over them. I know that some parasites are normal and I've had enough of them on some of my birds, but I would readily class this as an infestation. Think blackfly season in North Ontario bad...

Should there be a line drawn as to when you can tell something is just not safe to eat, or should I just crack them open and take a look at their insides to judge from there?
 
I have lot of rabbits around my place, in the summertime if you see one up close, their ears are covered in ticks and fleas. This would only mean their whole body is covered in them.
If you want to eat the rabbit go ahead, skin it out, and clean the meat, the ticks and fleas will be in the hide and fur, not the meat. No different than geese, or turkeys covered in lice. I'm sure if you looked close, most any wild animal you harvest will have parasites all over it, that's nature.
Clean em up, make some rabbit stew.
My to cents
 
Fire306 said:
If you want to eat the rabbit go ahead, skin it out, and clean the meat, the ticks and fleas will be in the hide and fur, not the meat.
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Eat them, I would. When I was young and ate farm raised, semi-free range bunnies, we would skin them and then very very quickly dunk or rinse the meat in some very hot (too hot for most to bathe in but not boiling) water with a bit of vinegar. All that does is if the flea or tick escaped to the meat they fall off in the water.

A heavy, thick rabbit stew is an awesome meal.
 
762Russian said:
Been a long time since I'd gone hunting for a meal- out here all I had time and energy for was the occasional gopher shoot, and you tend to not want to eat those. Only other things I've hunted were birds, and that was ages past

Today though, I was out taking care of my brother's place while he was away and he gave me permission to take care of the two rabbits that had been messing up his garden. My Titan NP took them down quickly ad quietly, but now I am looking at these two bunnies in my game bag and I can't help but notice that they have a helluva lot of black things crawling all over them. I know that some parasites are normal and I've had enough of them on some of my birds, but I would readily class this as an infestation. Think blackfly season in North Ontario bad...

Should there be a line drawn as to when you can tell something is just not safe to eat, or should I just crack them open and take a look at their insides to judge from there?
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I would strongly suggest that you wear latex medical gloves while skinning and gutting any game animal.

Be aware that most rabbit borne diseases are far more dangerous to cats and dogs versus humans.

Once you get that hide off the carcass, dispose of it far away from you and downwind as soon as possible. The parasites on the hide will become quickly aware that the host is no longer warm and will depart it forthwith, looking for another warm body to hitch a ride on. If you think that you might have brought a few fleas or ticks home with you, wash all your clothes in hot water, and keep any hunting bags in a cooler garage, well away from kids or pets.

PS: If you hunt with dogs make sure they get all their shots. Ensure to tell the vet' that you take your dog out hunting.
 
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Slooshark1 said:
Toss'em. It's not like you're starving to death.
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Not really an issue of starving, but more that I was taught to eat what I kill. Rabbits are a pest out here, but they are an edible pest.

Fire306 said:
I have lot of rabbits around my place, in the summertime if you see one up close, their ears are covered in ticks and fleas. This would only mean their whole body is covered in them.
If you want to eat the rabbit go ahead, skin it out, and clean the meat, the ticks and fleas will be in the hide and fur, not the meat. No different than geese, or turkeys covered in lice. I'm sure if you looked close, most any wild animal you harvest will have parasites all over it, that's nature.
Clean em up, make some rabbit stew.
My to cents
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I did have a look inside and happily the meat looked fine, and they were pretty meaty rabbits to boot- my brother does a great garden, hah. One's in the freezer and the other is set to be roasted tonight.

Thanks for the advice, guys. Seemed a bit of a stupid question to me, but I'd rather make sure I'm not about to become a host to worms or something. These bunnies looked like, had I left them where they lay, the bugs would have carried them off.
 
billdick said:
Flea's guys. Rabbits are usually covered with them but are still ok to eat.
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I would agree with fleas. Last few rabbits I took were covered in fleas. Fleas are smaller than ticks and will jump if placed on bare ground. I just cleaned em outside. If they are attached or swollen they may be ticks. I would be more hesitant to eat a rabbit that was heavily infested with ticks.
 
I have seen this in the past. These immature parasites will mature in a new host, such as a dog or cat. If it's too much work to remove them from the empty body cavity, you might wish to discard them in a place that pets cannot get at them. Latex gloves are a must when handling them. I days past trappers would clean as well as possible and cook very throroughly. Most vetrianarians would immediately suggest disposal instead these days.
Ususally I myself take this as a sign that local hare numbers are very dense. If you work the area on a more frequent basis and your harvest numbers increase, you will see less and less of this disease. Especially over a long and hard winter.

My 2 bits
 
External parasites will abandon/die within a couple of hours of the host's death. Rabbits and hares may also carry Tularemia as well as round and tapeworms. This is why you should wear latex gloves when cleaning either species. Tularemia is transferable to humans. If the meat or internal organs are compromised or discoloured immediately dispose of the carcass. Don't feed it to pets.
 
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