safe to eat rabbit?

C

coyote lance

New member
Hey, shot my first rabbit yesterday. I was wondering is it ok to eat them? It was a cotton tail. I just skinned this one and let the dog have what was left. He was very happy to say the least. I heard that during some times of the year it was not a good idea to eat them because of a worm or parasite they had. Is this true? If I can eat them any cooking tips would be helpful.
 
I heard the same thing Lance. But if I remember correctly there was a tell tale sign to watch for when skinning them.
I want to say spots on the meat or something to that effect, but don't quote me.
Maybe someone else remembers and will pop in here. Until then, you probably did wise by not eating it.
 
Greetings,

I live in Manitoba so I'm not sure if the rabbits in your area are subject to any particular problems that would make them unfit for consumption. However, what has served me well, as a general rule of thumb, is to look at the liver and other internal organs. If everything looks healthy, things should be OK. If there are white spots on the liver, then there's probably somthing wrong with that critter and you should avoid it.

Another thing to note, even before you shoot if you can, is to observe it the animal is behaving normaly. If it looks sick, has sores on it or whatever, then you may want to avoid that animal.

One last thing, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after cleaning your critters!

BTW, I just happened to introduce a jackrabbit to a 3200fps 55grn V-max from my .223 last Sunday... he was big, healthy... and tasty /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Hello all,
I hunt rabbits on a regular basis. My beagle hounds wont have it any other way. Anyway , i wait until ive seen a few good frosts out , before i will actually shoot one to eat. Nothing better. But pay close attention when you clean one, if it has "WOOLS" you'll notice it right off.
 
Kid,
im not sure if thats how you spell it, but they look like a catipiller with out hair. Real nasty looking. they try to get in just under the fur. if the rabbit has one, youll notice a lump ,or soar in the fur. I popped on out once while cleaning one, and the nasty thing tried to crawl back into the rabbit. NASTY!
 
As a kid growing up in Missouri I used to hunt rabbits with Beagles, Every now and again we would come across one with WOOLS, My father contacted the Missouri DNR and they said that they are a parasite and it doesn't effect the rabbit in health terms. But when we would skin one with this parasite we would look to see if it did indeed affect the meat and in most if not all instances it didn't. But usually after the first good frost they would disappear from the rabbits.
Hope this helps.
 
Wools are actually the Botfly warble and come off with the skin, they are not found in any other part of the rabbit. Although they look like something out of a horror movie they are harmless to humans. The old saw "don't eat rabbit in any month that doesn't have an R in it" is an old wives tale. The only thing humans must guard against contracting from rabbits is Tuleremia (spotted liver fever) and plague. Plague is contracted from fleas from the rabbit, spray them down before cleaning if that is a factor in your area. Tuleremia is contracted from an infected rabbit's fluids into a sore or cut on your person. Wear rubber or latex to handle rabbits if that is a factor in your area. Cooking renders the bunnies safe for consumption.
 
A couple of years back, pheasants were good in colorado and we had eaten several I had in the freezer. I had also shot and de-boned a jackrabbit and had it in the freezer. My wife swore she wouldn't eat Jackrabbit. Then one night I was working late and she called me to say that she prepared the last de-boned pheasant with a little pepper, salt, paprika, and a little oil in the pressure cooker. She claimed it was super delicious and it turned out to be the de-boned Jack'. Anyway, try this recipe.
 


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