deer health and consuming the meat

Etched Designs

Well-Known Member
hi all well im still new to stalking and finding out more each day. im leaning towards the health issues that deer may have like liver fluke foot and mouth ect

now i have eaten every deer i have shot not waisting a ounce but im not a 100% on what i should be looking for i have looked into a few thing and im learning the symptoms .. but my main question is

how many of you have discarded a deer due to it ill health ??? or fear of eating contaminated meat . i ask because as of yet i have not shot a deer that in my eyes had problems they have all looked fit and well with no obvious sings of sickness

​many thanks andy
 
The truth is deer are a very healthy species, depending on how many you are likely to shoot, you probably will not come across that many sick ones, but you need to be able to tell when you do, first by observing the animal before the shot and then examining it after.

Its not only a case of being able to discard those you think are unfit to eat , but you have an obligation to report
notifiable diseases.

There may be several ways you can gain that experience possibly through a mentor but I would suggest as some one new to stalking your first step should be DSC1.
 
Hi Andy, the deer where you live are in terrible shape too many diseases to mention. If I were you I would not shoot any deer unless you are at least 20 miles away from home. When I have cleaned up the local population and am sure no more disease is present I'll send you an 'all clear' email. :D

Regards P
 
thanks for that but im safe as all my deer ground is 30 mile from home so i should be ok .. such caring folk on here :lol:
 
ive discarded a few over the last few years, one with a vaginal prolapse its on this site somewhere,a couple more with infected wounds from either car accidents or dogs, over the last two seasons most fallow ive shot have had fluke discarded the liver only.Like already said most deer are perfectly healthy but when a herd are in front of me any thing not looking quite right are always the first to get culled.The bds do a good little waterproof guide on abnormalities on their website worth getting if your unsure what to look for.
 
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