OK to eat Cottontails?

[Carl]

When I suggested to someone that we shoot cottontails, he said this isn’t the time to eat them!  He’s always heard you have to wait until Winter.

Any truth to this?  I want to eat some rabbit!

[DoubleJ]

Same I've always heard.  Only after the first hard frost.  I was told they can carry a nasty bug that you can't cook out and a hard frost will kill the rabbits that have it leaving non infected rabbits left alive.  I don't hunt rabbits though so I wouldn't know for sure

[runamuk]

the theory is after a hard frost there are less parasites I believe the old saying was only hunt them in months with an R but around here September doesn't always frost .  Just cook all rabbit thoroughly and if it looks wormy or sickly dont eat it 

[jackmaster]

i thought it was only in months thjat ended in "Y" so jan and feb..... i know its pretty damn cold that time of year...... been along time since i ate rabbit and i have a ton of those fury little $%^&**( around my place

[FC]

The reason people say not to eat rabbits except after a hard frost is tularemia. The theory is that the hard frost or snow will kill off any infected animals. I just recently did a bunch of reading on this and apparently about 50 people are infected in the US annually, pretty rare!

One of the big tells is a rabbit that acts sick or doesn't seem alert etc, tularemia is extremely contagious so be cautious in your meat handling, I wear gloves myself while cleaning them. According to everything I was able to find however, it appears that most cases of tularemia are due to flea or deer fly bites now.

Do a little homework and make your own decision, it's good at least to know what to look for! Something to remember is that people eat wild rabbit without a frost all the time in places where it stays warm year round. 

[Kola16]

There is a worm that lives in them in the summer, but it dies off in the winter. That worm is harmless to people though even if you eat the worm live  If you cook your rabbit, then you will be fine 

[FC]

There is a worm that lives in them in the summer, but it dies off in the winter. That worm is harmless to people though even if you eat the worm live  If you cook your rabbit, then you will be fine 

This is false.

Tularemia has evident symptoms that are frequently visible on the liver (if the rabbit is infected). If the animal is infected and you are handling it bare-handed you should probably call your doctor when you get home, tularemia is so highly contagious that it is a major concern as a biological weapon.

Google tularemia or rabbit fever and you will find plenty of information.

[Kola16]

What I meant by that is.......if you cook the rabbit (and it only has worms) you will be fine.

[Kola16]

Oh, and if there are rings on the inside of the hide, don't eat it 

[DoubleJ]

I'm just going to stick with farm raised rabbit.

[Carl]

Thanks everyone. I'm sufficiently freaked out to NOT eat any rabbit until a couple of snows!

Carl

[jtw]

Just wear gloves and make sure to cook it til done. Tularemia isnt super common and honestly your probably more likely to have a farm raised chicken with salmonella or cow with ecoli. Or hell even fruits or veggies can have deadly bacteria.
Also, ive heard of rabbit farms being infected with tularemia too.
All food carries risks. Just be smart and handle/cook it correctly.

[FC]

Just wear gloves and make sure to cook it til done. Tularemia isnt super common and honestly your probably more likely to have a farm raised chicken with salmonella or cow with ecoli. Or hell even fruits or veggies can have deadly bacteria.
Also, ive heard of rabbit farms being infected with tularemia too.
All food carries risks. Just be smart and handle/cook it correctly.

This is all true and good info! I've read of more incidents involving laboratories in recent years than wild cases of tularemia which DOES cook out of it, I've also read of bears with tularemia but in any animal it is considered extremely rare now.

[KFhunter]

Also from I've read it's pretty easy to spot a suffering rabbit - I've yet to come across one.

I'll wack a few Hares (after a good hard frost) 

[MadHatter]

I have taken and eaten several cottontails so far this year... killed one a few weeks ago that was kinda sick looking and really thin, so I didn't eat it.  I just tend to clean them with gloves, cook them well and make sure they look healthy and their internals look good when gutting them out.  Made some cottontail chilli last week, was really good. 

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