Wild Desert Rabbits, Safe to Eat or NO

[Nesrath]

Wow good thread never even knew about rabbit disease or rabbit starvation.

[RDRogers]

The worm under the skin is the larva of the bot fly. In some areas they are known as the wolf worm. They are deposited on a host by mosquitoes. My poor Golden Retriever puppy had one in his neck a few weeks ago. Luckily I found it while it was very small. There are videos on you tube with them in people's heads.

Here's a video of them in a rabbit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juoapAO_ZxU

Disgusting.

[doctor patches]

The worm under the skin is the larva of the bot fly. In some areas they are known as the wolf worm. They are deposited on a host by mosquitoes. My poor Golden Retriever puppy had one in his neck a few weeks ago. Luckily I found it while it was very small. There are videos on you tube with them in people's heads.

Here's a video of them in a rabbit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juoapAO_ZxU

Disgusting.

congrats on finding my secret guilty pleasure. this and cyst/zit videos. god damn you to hell for resurrecting this, i thought i was past it.

[DaJoker]

Just make sure you eat something else too
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_starvation

Rabbit starvation, also referred to as protein poisoning or mal de caribou, is a form of acute malnutrition caused by excess consumption of any lean meat (e.g., rabbit) coupled with a lack of other sources of nutrients usually in combination with other stressors, such as severe cold or dry environment. Symptoms include diarrhea, headache, fatigue, low blood pressure and heart rate, and a vague discomfort and hunger that can only be satisfied by consumption of fat or carbohydrates. Rabbit starvation is likely responsible for the behavior associated with the Wendigo, an element of Algonquian folklore, in which a human can become a malevolent spirit that consumes human flesh to satiate its hunger.

One piece of reasoning to keep me from going batshit crazy if I see people eating... other people...

If there's enough greens for rabbits, there will likely be enough for a salad or some tubers. Remember your food pyramids people!

[roOism]

The worm under the skin is the larva of the bot fly. In some areas they are known as the wolf worm. They are deposited on a host by mosquitoes. My poor Golden Retriever puppy had one in his neck a few weeks ago. Luckily I found it while it was very small. There are videos on you tube with them in people's heads.

Here's a video of them in a rabbit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juoapAO_ZxU

Disgusting.

congrats on finding my secret guilty pleasure. this and cyst/zit videos. god damn you to hell for resurrecting this, i thought i was past it.

My personal fav
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfNWBo1toY0

Great thread btw, always been wary of what I could and couldn't eat down here, nice to know what precautions to take before trying to eat the local fauna.

[Westbound]

There is an old rule of thumb from the old timers here in Texas.
Only hunt rabbit in months that contain the letter "R". That makes sense since the only months that don't are late spring and summer.

[Arkiser]

only eat rabbits in months with R in them IE January December

[nateted4]

Haha, the "r" month thing applies to oysters on the gulf coast as well. Also, months with oil spills.

[Jamie]

As others have said, it should be ok to eat as long as it isn't all that you eat...I also think that when in doubt, it would be better to eat muscle tissue and skip the organs...

Jamie

[DaJoker]

Never skip the heart though.

[ChaoticL0gic]

When I lived in Lake Havasu City, AZ, I ate a lot of desert jackrabbits and cottontails. My rule was, if it is in season, it is ok to eat. I always made sure that the meat was well cooked and kept an eye out for any abnormalities while cleaning the animal. I never had an adverse reaction to it.

ETA - I like to cook the rabbit and pull all the meat of the bones. I then fry the shredded meat with a little oil and tapatio. Put it on roasted corn tortillas with a little cheese (I like pepperjack). I'll make tacos out of anything though.....

Havasu huh, I am in BHC nowadays, any good camping/hunting spots you can recommend? thanks for the recipe I will have to try that out!

[Jeriah]

Would frying the rabbit in oil/butter/grease impart enough fat to make up for the leanness of the meat? (Both for delicious and to prevent rabbit starvation.) Bacon wrapped rabbit sounds pretty good. Not too crazy about those botfly larvae, though.

[crypto]

Two things: Any game animal has a risk of any number of bacterial and parasitic diseases that may be contracted in the process of converting it from a dead animal to a tasty meal.

This is why game animals should not be served rare, and should always be well cooked. 170F meat temperatures will kill bacteria, period.

This leaves transmission during the butchering and cooking process, which I'll try to briefly address here:

In Missouri, the DNR recommends that all rabbits be butchered wearing gloves due to the risk of tularemia. Once the initial cut is made into the abdomen to field dress it, one is instructed to examine the liver. If you see white spots on the liver, immediately discard the carcass, and wash anything that touched it with a strong bleach solution (including yourself, your cutting implements, and anything the rabbit touched, like your game pouch). Missouri DNR requests that you notify them about the diseased rabbit so they can make a report, but thats a local-to-here thing. Your state may or may not care.

If the liver is clean, simply take care to avoid contamination of anything that will contact your food by the raw meat. I like to butcher my small game and throw it into a small ziplock immediately. Be mindful of poop getting on stuff, I've gut-shot squirrels before and had to discard a quarter because the poopy exit wound was through a leg
Make sure to keep the meat it as cold as possible, to try to cut down on any bacteria of opportunity like e.coli or salmonella.

Basically, treat game animals like the filthiest chicken you can imagine, and you'll be fine.

[TacAir]

Wanted to go rabbit hunting with the wife - she said "ab-so-lutly NO, not even."

Took awhile to figure out what it was with her and bunnies - she is all about deer/elk hunting.

Then it dawned on me - she grew up on the edge of the Dugway proving ranges. I guess there abouts rabbit = dead in a hurry. Maybe that is part of the local lore there in SoNV. We would hunt bunnies up North of Panaca - no problems in the winter.

[CitizenZ]

Would frying the rabbit in oil/butter/grease impart enough fat to make up for the leanness of the meat? (Both for delicious and to prevent rabbit starvation.) Bacon wrapped rabbit sounds pretty good. Not too crazy about those botfly larvae, though.

Yes. Any source of oil or fat would be helpful. Especially to growing children and working adults. Vegetarians need to add extra oils in thier diets. Canola, olive and grapeseed are good and store well. Other animal fats or eggs work well. It does not have to be in the dish, just in the diet. During the troubles in Bosnia mothers prized oil for their children above all other things. Without it, they would not grow. A jug of oil can mean the difference between thriving or dying.
Many small birds and game suffer from similar low fat issues.
There is an old tradition of stuffing one animal inside another and preparing them together as a single roast. This mixes both oils and juices to a visually stunning roast that is delicious and nutritious. A duck is fatty and would make an excellent mix with some rabbit, green and grains to produce a very sound diet. Sometimes many animals would be suffed iniside the other; quail>rabbit>duck>pheasant>turkey>goose>deer>pig>cow>buffalo. Cook all day, serve to a multitude.

ETA; just to be clear, you won't get "rabbit starvation" just by eating rabbit a few times. It would take a long time of eating no other source of fat. If you have access to bacon, you are not going to get "rabbit starvation". Even if it's not in the same dish.

[nateted4]

quail>rabbit>duck>pheasant>turkey>goose>poodle>pig>cow>buffalo. Cook all day, serve to a multitude.

Now that's what I'm talkin' about!

[Mojave]

"I call a turbine!"

(God, I hope someone besides me watches that show.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHRFAM0ZvCM (For real this time.)

[CitizenZ]

"Deer" = "D e e r" = "Poodle?

Huh?

Petty Tyrants and their petty tortures.

[doctor patches]

"I call a turbine!"

(God, I hope someone besides me watches that show.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHRFAM0ZvCM (For real this time.)

before i watch the video i want to take a stab at it...
red vs blue?

[Mojave]

Of course!

[iamdrglass]

Hey folks, go to the family prep forum and look at the Highwaymen thread.
I posted a recipe for how I fixed Jackrabbit. If people will eat WOODCHUCK,SQUIREL,POUSUMM,RACOON, MOUNTAIN LION ,BEAR,DOG,CAT,RAT,BAT......fill in the blank what is the problem with a little hare. Get off your key board kill it and grill it boil it cook it all the way trough add garlic and tapitio with a side of rice and beans. What could possibly go wrong,;)

That being said I did start carrying rubber gloves to dress out my quarry. After research of course.

Just add Bacon
Dan

[Merovech]

I ate the ones in the Mojave area of Kalifornia every weekend for several years.

You are gonna find two kinds.

Jack Rabbits, and Cotton Tails.

Jack is good with some BBQ sauce and spice roasted on a spit or cleaned and fried in a skillet.

Cotton is sweeter and more tender if I remember right (been about 20 years since I was in the Mojave hunting rabbits.) and is also good cooked any number of ways.

just dont mix your rabbit shot with your double 0-buckshot... it just makes a mess. (Did that once, painted the desert and never did find the rabbit)

I will say, dont 'almost miss'. Screaming rabbit will give you nightmares

[Merovech]

What kinda rabbits you got down there?

Mostly Cotton tails and Jack rabbits.

From what I hear the worms are the big issue. Apparently they are rampant in this area.
Everything I have read seems to come down to two major points. Cook well done and wear gloves when butchering, unless worms are present, then toss it.
Any thoughts?

Yep, that was the rule of thumb when I was down there as well.

[iamdrglass]

I forgot about something else We have learned, You need to clean them out ASAP. By the time you get them home your enthusiasm for eat what ya kill isn't quite as strong;)

But the dogs like it.
Dan