To follow on from @Tim.243's very helpful series of photos intended to help new stalkers:
When skinning a smallish fallow pricket a couple of days ago, I noticed that it had much less muscle on its left shoulder. There was no sign of damage or bruising, and the stalker who shot it hadn't reported any lameness, so I guessed that the muscle wastage was due to an old injury or infection, long since healed, and that the animal was now fit.
Examination of the prescapular nodes confirmed my opinion, with the left node being considerably larger than the right (see photo), but otherwise normal in colour and texture. No pus or other evidence of current infection.
All other nodes in the carcass were fine, so it passed inspection as fit.
(Enlarged prescapular node on left, normal size on right).
Incidentally, larder weight of the carcass (skin on) was 25kg, and it yielded £276 worth of saleable lean meat.
When skinning a smallish fallow pricket a couple of days ago, I noticed that it had much less muscle on its left shoulder. There was no sign of damage or bruising, and the stalker who shot it hadn't reported any lameness, so I guessed that the muscle wastage was due to an old injury or infection, long since healed, and that the animal was now fit.
Examination of the prescapular nodes confirmed my opinion, with the left node being considerably larger than the right (see photo), but otherwise normal in colour and texture. No pus or other evidence of current infection.
All other nodes in the carcass were fine, so it passed inspection as fit.
(Enlarged prescapular node on left, normal size on right).
Incidentally, larder weight of the carcass (skin on) was 25kg, and it yielded £276 worth of saleable lean meat.
