Safety of eating wild goats and pigs?

[bigpete]

We never used to eat wild pig....till we tried it....then we butchered everyone we shot thereafter

[Stix]

the 12 volt fridge freezer i bought ,"kings" brand, from a four wheel drive acccessory wharehouse is one of the best investments i've ever made. cost me $560 with a cover as well. as for the front legs stix 'ole mate, im not as accomplished a butcher as you i guess old mate. the last front legs i tried really didn't have much on them . as has been suggested earlier, i try to stay away from gutting out as it lessens Q fever risk. for my tastes, goat and rabbit are definately on the menu, haven't had any success with deer yet.

Hey bigrich...yes my fridge is well loved too...!! (Its filthy inside though...& i did say its loved, not looked after )

On the front legs--mate im no butcher believe me...hell im like the sweedish chef on the muppets except i take five times longer...!!!
i got no idea what im doing as a butcher.
The key points to consider while boning are...
1) follow the bones...
2) constantly run the knife over the steel...
3) every few inches with the knife put some beer in your mouth to make sure its still cold...


I used to think the same with regard to how much (little) meat is on the front legs of a goat...that is until i boned out & weighed one compared to a boned out back leg, & i was pleasantly surprised...

As i said before i think the leg is deceiving because of its bulk & 'flatness'...

When it comes to lamb, im a fan of the good ol' burnt forequarter chop over the barbi grill, & the front quarter panel & wheel arch of goat dropped in the slow cooker is a cracker so i keep em when i can.

[deanp100]

I know a meat inspector who is a slaughterman and runs the local box. He said he has not seen a wild pig carcass yet that he would eat.
I don't know, I'm just sayin.....

I have eaten heaps.and I am still here. If you know what you are doing it shouldn’t scare you. I haven’t seen an oyster yet that I would eat.

[deanp100]

I know a meat inspector who is a slaughterman and runs the local box. He said he has not seen a wild pig carcass yet that he would eat.
I don't know, I'm just sayin.....

.

[deanp100]

I know a meat inspector who is a slaughterman and runs the local box. He said he has not seen a wild pig carcass yet that he would eat.
I don't know, I'm just sayin.....

Sorry. Double post

[Stix]

... ...I know a meat inspector who is a slaughterman and said he has not seen a wild pig carcass yet that he would eat......

I have eaten heaps.and I am still here... ... ... I haven’t seen an oyster yet that I would eat.

[Member-Deleted]

Ask a vegan and all meat is no good so where do you stop
People eat snails and they can carry some of the nastiest parasites on earth
Its all in the eyes of the beholder he who dares wins i'll have a wild pork sandwich and you can have an antibiotic riddled pork
sandwich

[bigfellascott]

I've been munching my way through Venison Chops this week courtesy of a mate, bloody yummy, even shared some with the Neighbours.

[John]

I’ve been eating wild goats all my life and have a great recipe for wild pig roo sangs that’s been a big hit for years even with the people that don’t like the idea of game meats.
Goat is better than lamb from the supermarket in my opinion in fact my partner who didn’t eat game before we got together sends me out to harvest them be for the freezer runs out.
Wild pigs are fine to eat as well there are a lot better if your hunting them around cropping areas where there well feed with bit of fat on them.
Once killed take a look at the liver kidneys for spots lumps colour generally gives a good indication how healthy they are same as taking them to the chillers you leave them in so they can be checked.
When it’s roasted up the temp will kill any organisms I would recommend a meat thermometer if your a bit unsure personally I don’t use one but it’s a 100% of knowing the inside temp is high enough to be safe

And if you look at it Australia is the biggest exporter of goat meat in the world most of which is is wild goats herded up by farmers as a bit of extra income especially in times of hardship like the drought we have been experiencing around the country

Wild pigs sold to chillers are HC certified (human consumption) for over seas market

The thing is most younger Australians think there to good to eat game meat or it’s not safe in some way others have tried it cooked wrongly and don’t like it from that one experience some just don’t like the idea of killing something and eating it.
I believe to many Australians eat meat guilt free if they got out and did got over they’d enjoy it like a few of us.

I don’t mind at all leaves plenty out there for me I don’t feel guilty at all after putting in the work to harvest a animal cleanly nor should we
Good luck give it a good I’m sure you will like it and a mile of recipes out there to try.

[John]

I’ve been eating wild goats all my life and have a great recipe for wild pig roo sangs that’s been a big hit for years even with the people that don’t like the idea of game meats.
Goat is better than lamb from the supermarket in my opinion in fact my partner who didn’t eat game before we got together sends me out to harvest them be for the freezer runs out.
Wild pigs are fine to eat as well there are a lot better if your hunting them around cropping areas where there well feed with bit of fat on them.
Once killed take a look at the liver kidneys for spots lumps colour generally gives a good indication how healthy they are same as taking them to the chillers you leave them in so they can be checked.
When it’s roasted up the temp will kill any organisms I would recommend a meat thermometer if your a bit unsure personally I don’t use one but it’s a 100% of knowing the inside temp is high enough to be safe

And if you look at it Australia is the biggest exporter of goat meat in the world most of which is is wild goats herded up by farmers as a bit of extra income especially in times of hardship like the drought we have been experiencing around the country

Wild pigs sold to chillers are HC certified (human consumption) for over seas market

The thing is most younger Australians think there to good to eat game meat or it’s not safe in some way others have tried it cooked wrongly and don’t like it from that one experience some just don’t like the idea of killing something and eating it.
I believe to many Australians eat meat guilt free if they got out and did got over they’d enjoy it like a few of us.

I don’t mind at all leaves plenty out there for me I don’t feel guilty at all after putting in the work to harvest a animal cleanly nor should we
Good luck give it a good I’m sure you will like it and a mile of recipes out there to try.

[Ziege]

All depends where you source it, s**t same breed of goats 50km apart when I lived in the Gascoyne tasted completely different to one another due to different water source, food source and so on. So makes total sense to anyone to understand that parasites and disease will be endemic to some areas and not others, keeping an eye on government groups that test and survey such things will give you a good indication, but given most parasites and diseases are specific to different parts of anatomy, worms in roos for example, it's a good idea to be meticulous when it comes to dressing down game. Make sure not to puncture lungs, stomach, bowels and bladder when cutting them open, make sure to bleed out well, don't cut diaphragm out until guts totally removed (one reason I never heart/lung shoot something I'm going to eat), don't puncture the oesophagus or windpipe either. If you keep all those things within their own membranes and sinue layers as well as skin with clean knives etc you will eliminate most of almost all the parasites/bugs that they carry, the rest is common sense, store cleanly and in cold ice or fridge/freezer.

[Blr243]

I have eaten plenty of wild pork and fallow and goat a couple of times. I do know two pro shooters that have got very sick / hospitalised from handling it but not eating it

[bigrich]

I have eaten plenty of wild pork and fallow and goat a couple of times. I do know two pro shooters that have got very sick / hospitalised from handling it but not eating it

do you know which beast got them sick BLR ?

[Harrynsw]

Have eaten wild goat many times, always try for the head shot to save more meat.
In my own research to discover the cons of eating goat meat I found out that goat fetus carry diseases transmissible to humans, so best to leave the pregnant ones.
In regards to pigs, I read a story about a family that ate wild caught pig and couple of them ended up with brain damage and 1 died, since then I havnt even thought of keeping one.

[Stix]

Have eaten wild goat many times, always try for the head shot to save more meat.
In my own research to discover the cons of eating goat meat I found out that goat fetus carry diseases transmissible to humans, so best to leave the pregnant ones.
In regards to pigs, I read a story about a family that ate wild caught pig and couple of them ended up with brain damage and 1 died, since then I havnt even thought of keeping one.

Brain damage from what Harry...?...what did they catch from the pig...?

And BLR...what did the shooters catch that landed them so sick & in hostible..?(lol)

[Blr243]

Big rich and stix. One bloke did pigs and Roos and went to hospital for leptospirosis. The second bloke got Q fever and I think brucellosis from memory separate incidents. The second bloke shot a small amount of deer as well as mostly pigs and Roos Not sure if they knew how they caught it when they are often doing both pigs and Roos same nights

[Ziege]

From what I've observed swine carry more transmissible disease than the goat and deer.

Brucellosis, leptospirosis, tuberculosis, Listeria, salmonella, ecoli, streptococcus, as well as some other less common viruses and bacteria. Proper inspection and preparation and preservation should be strictly adhered to and they should be thoroughly cooked in order to avoid the above issues

[Blr243]

Sparganosis is the one that scares me the most , if I’m correct it’s big worms growing and crawling around inside you and running around wherever they want to

[Blr243]

That’s the one that’s killed by cooking it thoroughly at adequate temperatures for long enough

[snag]

This has all gotten very technical, but may I add this as a 3rd generation bush-meat eater? Ziege is quite correct in his advice for dressing game and especially in his direction to get the meat on ice or refrigerated as soon as you harvest it. Both he and BLR are also right in saying that thoroughly cooking the meat will negate any possible worms or other nasties. My family has always cooked our bush meat "well done" and have had no problems. If it's a bit dry, a bit of gravy or apple sauce fixes it up. Dad's in his 90's now and still eating what me and the kids bring home.

[Ziege]

Agree with snag whole heartedly, also if you cook your bush meat in a casserole or broth or stew make sure to cook the meat as much as possible before, so casserole or stew good tactic is to cook fast and hot, then give it a dose of whatever you're doing after and cook till soft again, this works well with roo as cooking it fast and hot tends to make it a bit knotty unless ya cooking the loins but even then be careful to cook them properly.

[deanp100]

Sparganosis is the one that scares me the most , if I’m correct it’s big worms growing and crawling around inside you and running around wherever they want to

Sparganosis is one of the few worms that infect the meat and not just the offal and organs. It looks like fine white cotton in the meat and is very susceptible to heat. You won’t even know you are eating them. Again just cook your meat.

[Rick93123]

Feral goats are fine to eat, try and take a juvenile one for these purposes though as mature goat's meat can be like chewing on a truck tyre. Unless you have a pantry of ingredients at your disposal and an extra day to spare in which case it is easy to tenderise the tough meat by marinating it overnight and making a stew or curry or something. But if your plan is to hack a leg off and chuck it on the bbq then young ones are the go. Either way you will be fine eating feral goats meat.
Pigs on the other hand are a different matter. They may be fine, but there is also a good chance they are not and that is a mistake you don't want to make. Take great care in inspecting a pig after you have killed it. I personally wouldn't even take the risk because there is too much that can go wrong. Firstly some pigs carry tuberculosis, you can check for this by cutting the pig open and inspecting it's lungs. Feel, squeeze and rub the lungs and if they feel as though they are gritty inside, like there is sand in them or something then that pig is a no go. A majority of them are infestated with worms and parasites, that kind of speaks for it's self. And probably the riskiest thing is that some pigs carry brusellosis which is contracted when blood and body fluids from an infected animal comes in contact with your mouth, eyes, cuts, grazes, etc. Also from the undercooked meat. So take great care when butchering the animal, use gloves, goggles, don't touch your face and disinfect everything, including yourself afterwards. Also practice kitchen safety as in not using the same knives, chopping boards, etc on other foods i.e no cross contamination. Or better yet just don't take the risk, stick to goat meat, they are easier to catch anyway.

[IlovemyLE]

So, if what they eat doesn't affect the safety of the meat, how the f%^$ do we explain mad cow disease, Kreutzfeld Jacob disease etc? Any time rotten meat goes into the food chain the risk of decayed proteins is imminent. The problem is, this is not a problem that can be detected by inspection.

[Bugman]

Luckily for me, one of the guys I shoot with is a retired DPI meat inspector. The stuff he can spot is amazing. To date I have not been sick after eating a goat curry or any wild pork dish.

[deanp100]

Several things protect us from being exposed to any issues that are BSE related. It appeared in cattle that were fed a carnivore product diet from contaminated sources. Pigs are better suited to processing other animal products, hence the term omnivore. However the main. Thing to protect us is the fact we don’t have BSE. Even if we did the chances of catching it are minuscule, even if we started chowing down on brain and spinal tissue from an nfected animal. But if you are worried, don’t eat any meat, processed or not.
The UK outbreak was in good clean farm cows,not wild deer, so what do we do. Go vegan.

[Ziege]

So, if what they eat doesn't affect the safety of the meat, how the f%^$ do we explain mad cow disease, Kreutzfeld Jacob disease etc? Any time rotten meat goes into the food chain the risk of decayed proteins is imminent. The problem is, this is not a problem that can be detected by inspection.

that can happen regardless, best not eat meat at all if youre worried about such things.

[Oldbloke]

There are very few, if any parasites, diseases, viruses or bacteria that cooking does not kill.

[PaddyT]

My old man working in agricultural parasitology for many years. The really dangerous ones for humans are the liver fluke- from contaminated ruminant crap or by eating greens (eg wild water cress) from a contaminated stream . They can cause liver failure/cancer etc. The other one is hydatid cysts from tapeworms -people feed their dogs uncooked offal and then kiss their dogs or dont wash their hands properly after dealing with dog crap-dont do it. Otherwise cook the meat properly and youll be fine. Brucellosis and Q Fever can be avoided by careful handling and brucellosis in wild pigs is confined to Qld and Nth NSW, wear disposable gloves if in doubt

[bah!]

I've eaten a few young goats ( called chevron ) were great.

Someone sold you a swifty! It is young goat that is capretto, goat is chevon, no r.

This and a few other docs talk about catching s**t off feral pigs; https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectiou ... nting.aspx

Usually the path is via pig dogs.