I have been thinking of going stump shooting and if oppertunity comes rabbit hunting. I heard years ago that rabbits should only be harvested for food in the winter months, and I also head that if there are white spots on the liver then its sick and do not eat it. Well the last few rabbits I have shot ( years ago ) had the white spots on the liver so we discarded them. Also I am sure you have noticed that it is not winter, and here in Texas its been 95-100 every day. I don't like killing game just to kill it. I would much rather make use of the resource if I am going to harvest it.There is no closed rabbit season here, but is it a waste to hunt them this time of year or are they ok to eat.
I hunt and eat them year round down here. Just make sure to cook them properly and you will be fine. Heck...I'm still eating tomatoes after most of the markets around here pulled them off the shelfs. Proper cleaning and, more importantly, proper cooking is what is required.
At least in Alaska, some rabbits can carry tularemia, a tick born virus. The ticks drop off as winter approaches and any rabbits with the disease will die, so by winter, any surviving rabbits are safe to eat. Do a web search to find out more about tularemia and dangers to those who eat infected animals.
GR is right, the web is a wonderful source of info on stuff like this. For instance, eating infected rabbits is only one vector for the disease. Infected ticks seem to be pretty common, too. And, thorough cooking will render an infected rabbit safe to eat.
It used to be that you could look up tularemia on the web and drill right down to hunting specific information. Now many of the first pages have to do with tularemia as a terrorist tool.
Our world has changed, eh?
Guy
Tularemia is a bacterial disease that can infect humans. It is easily treated with antibiotics. Tularemia occurs in both the U.S. and Canada. The most common cause of human infection is from direct contact with blood or flesh of wild rabbits (for example, skinning and eating wild rabbit meat). A person can also be infected by a tularemia-infected tick or mosquito, or by breathing tularemia-infected dust.
GrayRino- not all the sick ones die in winter; its always best to wear rubber gloves when you pick up a dead rabbit; then cut it open and check its liver. If it looks yellowish and shriveled; or has anything other than a deep red normal color to it.. your taking a chance.
If rabbits get fat; they will get fat deposits in the liver; which will be yellow looking in themselves; but... the liver will look red and healthy like the rabbit did.
Rabbits are tasty enough to be careful; and to enjoy rabbit dinners :)
with mustard during the cooking process it's delicious !!!!!