Healthy Rabbits

cattledog04

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Sep 12, 2017
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If I want to shoot a few rabbits in my front yard, is there anything to look for to make sure they are healthy and safe to eat?
 
The only two potential issues I’m aware of are Tuleremia and Botfly. Google them to see what they look like in rabbits. Always use latex gloves when butchering. It is very unlikely there is anything wrong with your rabbits.
 
Gross....but let um have it..damn things crap all over my yard...and then lloyd eats it...vermin...
 
I've always had healthy rabbits whether shot in the forest, IV, or in my parents' yard in Poway. Until recently, I used to always gut them and only once I've seen a sketchy liver (spotted yellow) which I threw away (I now do gutless). And it's been a few years since I found a botfly larvae, aka warble, under the skin. I've found them in both cottontails and jacks, but they're not harmful. They look awfully nasty but they only hang out under the skin and don't affect the meat.

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I found a Huge one way up in the sinus cavity of one of the last two deer. Man it looks painful as heck to have one of those up in there. Can't imagine dealing with that day-in, day-out.
 

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