Can Eating Wild Rabbit Or Squirrel Meat Be Dangerous?

When eating wild rabbit or squirrel meat, you should be aware that there are some dangers. The meat should only be eaten if sourced from someone reliable, as there are dangers involved in eating both animals, if they haven't been treated correctly before consumption.

Rabbits and squirrels can ingest the tapeworm eggs that are present in dog faeces. These eggs can hatch inside the animal and the larvae can migrate to all parts of the animal's body, within the tissues. If eaten in this state the infection can be passed onto a human. The tissue of the animal should be inspected thoroughly before consumption, and the signs to look out for include a bad smell, discoloration and the appearance of abscesses. Parasites can also be present on any wild animal. The entire body of the animal, both internal and external, should be checked prior to consumption, with particular focus on the kidneys, liver and muscle tissue.

A common disease in rabbits is tularemia. This affects the eyes of the rabbit and can be passed onto humans if the rabbit is not cooked properly. The bacteria are killed during the cooking process, and the most common cause of the disease being passed onto humans is when the animal is butchered without gloves.

Squirrels carry prions, which are infectious particles in their bones and their brain. The brain of a squirrel should never be eaten as cooking will not entirely destroy the prions. Prions are similar to the infection that causes mad cow disease. The rest of the squirrel can be eaten but should be cooked thoroughly prior to consumption.

This is the rule of thumb when eating any game or rodent, make sure that there are no eggs or parasites to be seen and ensure that the meat is cooked properly.

I don't agree that you should eat wild game as soon as possible after it is killed. It should be cleaned as soon as possible. But I prefer to let small game like squirrels, rabbits, game birds, etc., soak in cold water a little while, to drain the blood out, then wash them thoroughly and let them age in the freezer for a while before cooking them. Barbecued rabbit is the best! My dad made a barbecue sauce that would take the hide off your tongue, but was worth it. Mine is just about as good, but not quite. For deer, I take most of the meat to a man who butchers them for me. He makes the best sausage out of the shoulders. I process the tenderloins and the back straps myself. I cut the back straps into little steaks, from which my wife makes the best country style steak and gravy you ever had. As for "worbles" in squirrels, we actually called them "wolves" where I grew up.
They are actually the larvae of the bot fly. They are pretty gross. So I don't hunt squirrels until after the first frost, when most of them are gone from the squirrels' hides. In rabbits, look out for pale green spots in the meat. These indicate rabbit fever. If you find this while cleaning a rabbit, immediately throw it away, and go sterilize your hands with good soap and HOT water. You really don't want to contract rabbit fever.

No I have been eating rabbit all my life I have never had any problems just throughly check the meat for pale green spots and the liver for white spots

Somebody posted about gold miners dieing from eating rabbit, that because that's all they ate. Rabbit and squirrel are very lean meats and if that's all you eat you will die from lack of fats.   Typically eating rabbit during the colder months is you best bet as well as with squirrel, during this time the diseases that affect them seem to go dormant.   But if you eat them in the summer just look for discolored meat and discolored spots on the livers, hearts, and kidneys of the wild game, if you don't see any your ok to eat it.

Yes. All wild animals carry possible parasites or possible disease. You need to know what you are looking at. There are also seasons for most wild game for a reason. The hunting season is usually during their fastest period of the year. If the animal is free of disease and you clean it correctly, though, you should not have a problem.

Most wild game is safe,my hubby has eaten it all his life just be careful of the condition of whatever animal, look for signs of any odor, discolored meat etc.. And eat it as soon as possible after it's killed.

I grew up eating wild game. We would check the liver on the rabbit and squirrel for spots, if there was any we discard that  one. We had them fried with biscuits and gravy. Or made sausage out the rabbits. If you can name it we ate it. If there was a hunting season, we were out harvesting the game. From birds to deer.

Wild rabbit and squirrel are never greasy and very low in fat. The meat is delicious. You can contract tulemaria from rabbits through cleaning or eating an infected rabbit. Always check the livers. Any animals with white spots or lesions on the liver are subject and should be discarded. Wear rubber gloves when field dressing and cleaning.

Not at all. I have seen people eat squirrels and have myself eaten wild rabbit. They are greasy but not to bad. I have seen my elders eat prairie dogs! I wouldn't worry if I were you! ;)

TO me, this is a matter of survival, and in the wild there is no freezers. To survive, you need t know how to build a fire, hunt and cook the meat properly so that you are not sick to go on and look for ways to get out!

Rabbit is nice and pheasant Pigeon and snipe I never eat a squirrel but will if I can shoot one   where would I catch one if anyone noes

Well I ate rabbit and squirrel most of my life my dads a big hunter and cooks the best even catfish and I'm still alive never had any problems never got sick or nothing

A friend of mine that is a retired nurse and now raises her own organic meat
and veggies told me that a person can die if they eat exclusively wild rabbit
for 2 weeks straight. It not the parasites in the meat but no fat in the meat.
Humans need some fat in their food. One can eat domestic rabbits and not become ill.

Some clown has +

told me that some other clown in a university as discovered, god knows how, that the gold miners in the klondike who lived exclusively on rabbit, died in droves.
He would be glad to see this confirmed.
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