Questions about eating rabbits and hares

Varminting and vertebrate pest control. Small game, hunting feral goats, foxes, dogs, cats, rabbits etc.

Questions about eating rabbits and hares

Post by juststarting » 15 Sep 2015, 1:05 am

Just wondering if it's safe, in VIC to eat rabbits and hares... Any diseases, anything to look for when processing, etc? Totally clueless.

thanks
Last edited by juststarting on 15 Sep 2015, 11:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
---
https://reloadingstudio.com
User avatar
juststarting
Captain
Captain
 
Posts: 2738
Victoria

Re: Questions about eating rabbits and hares

Post by <<Genesis93>> » 15 Sep 2015, 8:52 am

Youre not wrong.... theyre a bugger to hold down on the plate while you 'knife and fork' them....
<<Genesis93>>
Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
 
Posts: 2191
-

Re: Questions about eating rabbits and hares

Post by newsteadvic » 15 Sep 2015, 8:58 am

With myxomatosis you will often notice before you shoot them as they are blind, stumbling about in day light. Up close they have red swollen eyes and apparently white spots on liver however if they look bad on the outside I don't open them up. Calivirus i don't think has obvious signs? They are killed quickly in their burrow.
Hydatids look like large bubbly clear frogs eggs around liver and bowel. Don't touch and/or wash hands well before eating! You can see hydatids in foxes as well.
Generally if it is behaving normally before shot, eyes clear and bright insides normal I eat it.
newsteadvic
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
 
Posts: 138
Victoria

Re: Questions about eating rabbits and hares

Post by happyhunter » 15 Sep 2015, 9:45 am

.
Last edited by happyhunter on 13 Feb 2017, 10:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
happyhunter
Warrant Officer C1
Warrant Officer C1
 
Posts: 1303
Other

Re: Questions about eating rabbits and hares

Post by juststarting » 15 Sep 2015, 11:04 pm

bentaz wrote:it always best to make sure they're "deceased" before you eat them

Very, very good point. Ooops.
---
https://reloadingstudio.com
User avatar
juststarting
Captain
Captain
 
Posts: 2738
Victoria

Re: Questions about eating rabbits and hares

Post by juststarting » 15 Sep 2015, 11:06 pm

Thanks all.
---
https://reloadingstudio.com
User avatar
juststarting
Captain
Captain
 
Posts: 2738
Victoria

Re: Questions about eating rabbits and hares

Post by brett1868 » 15 Sep 2015, 11:42 pm

Last few hare's I've shot I couldn't eat, mainly cause I didn't want to spend several hours collecting the pieces. :)
How's my posting?
Complaints, Concerns - 13 11 14
User avatar
brett1868
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel
 
Posts: 3017
New South Wales

Re: Questions about eating rabbits and hares

Post by sandgroperbill » 15 Sep 2015, 11:46 pm

They had bad cases of lead poisoning and blewthehellupamatosis
sandgroperbill
Warrant Officer C2
Warrant Officer C2
 
Posts: 1083
Western Australia

Re: Questions about eating rabbits and hares

Post by brett1868 » 15 Sep 2015, 11:59 pm

There's something about 185gr JHP from a 300 Weatherby Magnum that turns hares into Ikea furniture...You know it's a hare but buggered if you can put it together + there's always a piece missing :)
How's my posting?
Complaints, Concerns - 13 11 14
User avatar
brett1868
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel
 
Posts: 3017
New South Wales

Re: Questions about eating rabbits and hares

Post by sandgroperbill » 16 Sep 2015, 12:03 am

Ever tried the cheytac? I'd be guessing it would kill, skin and mince all with the pull of a trigger
sandgroperbill
Warrant Officer C2
Warrant Officer C2
 
Posts: 1083
Western Australia

Re: Questions about eating rabbits and hares

Post by brett1868 » 16 Sep 2015, 12:17 am

sandgroperbill wrote:Ever tried the cheytac? I'd be guessing it would kill, skin and mince all with the pull of a trigger


I've hit giant bunnies with the 375 out to 550m and it's certainly effective though only gets explosive if a bone is hit, got one through the chest at 400m a while back and removed most of the spinal column otherwise it's similar to using a 308 at 100m. I have 2 loads for the Cheytac which are essentially the same apart from the Meplat, the ones I use to punch paper are pointed and trimmed which makes them next to useless for ethical hunting but the unpointed 350Gr JHP's @ 3070fps are lethal out past the 1000m mark.
How's my posting?
Complaints, Concerns - 13 11 14
User avatar
brett1868
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel
 
Posts: 3017
New South Wales

Re: Questions about eating rabbits and hares

Post by GLS_1956 » 16 Sep 2015, 1:43 am

My father has told me that back in the 1930s and 1940s my Grandfather would take a 22 rifle with him when he took children to school, they lived on a Kansas farm and the trip to town was several miles both ways. Rabbit fever was quite common there and Grandpa made it a habit to first shoot by the rabbit, to spook it into running. If the rabbit only hopped a few feet or yards Grandpa would dispatch it with another shot and they'd leave if for the scavengers. If it went of a long run he'd go ahead and kill it, and either my dad or his younger brother was sent to retrieve the game for the pot.
I've been asked: "How many guns do you need to have?" My answer remains the same: "One more."
GLS_1956
Sergeant
Sergeant
 
Posts: 541
United States of America

Re: Questions about eating rabbits and hares

Post by Antie » 16 Sep 2015, 10:30 am

brett1868 wrote:Last few hare's I've shot I couldn't eat, mainly cause I didn't want to spend several hours collecting the pieces. :)


How about a straw?
User avatar
Antie
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
 
Posts: 114
Queensland


Back to top
 
Return to Hunting - Varminting and vertebrate pest control