Consuming wild rabbit presents three main risks:
Tularemia - (rabbit fever) – Identified by animal behavior / general appearance and possible liver spotting, minimal risk present in gutting / skinning. Meat is edible if cooked fully. 150-300 cases per year, most acquired through tick bites, very few cases of transmission from rabbit viscera – use of gloves while gutting will further decease this very minimal risk.
Taenia pisiforme (tapeworm) – Identified by bladder-like larval cysts free in the body cavity. The biggest risk here is to the dogs and then, only if they are fed uncooked, infected tissue.
Myiasi (fly larvae) – Larvae can be observed embedded in skin muscle or nasal passage. Meat is edible after removal of infested areas.
For those who are not quite convinced, there are a few additional precautions that would reduce the risk from ‘negligible’ to ‘non-existent’:
1) Only eat healthy rabbits (duh) – given that we are only culling from the population that comes on the property, it is unlikely that any are sick. Risk factors are: rabbits that seem confused, or don’t run.
2) Physical inspection – the rabbit should have a clean and healthy coat, free from lesions or abscesses. The organs should be inspected for parasites, discoloration, lesions etc
3) Marinating / cooking with anthelmintic and antibacterial spices and foods (e.g. mustard, onions, garlic, turmeric, star anise, etc)
Overall, the risk (even before the above precautions) is equivalent to commercially available meat sources. After all, this is organic, free-range bunny!
References:
http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/publications/disease_emergence/Chapter5.pdf
mmmmm
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