Is there a class on Inspecting Small Game for Pathogens/Parasites?

[salalscape]

I'm looking for a class or workshop that teaches what to look for when opening up a fresh kill. I know some diseases and parasites render the meat uneatable. But there are others that aren't really a problem. Does anyone know of such a class?

Thanks for any advice you may have.

[Da stump]

The closest i came to a class like that was when i went to collage and took medical assisting training.  The game dept. warns of them when you take trapper training usually but doesn't go into great detail.  Error to the side of caution and bag and raid all catches.  I remember a story one guy told me of a trapper that had been to the east side and caught a bunch of rats and beav and it being late he threw them in the back of his truck, bedtime he didn't think much of it and crashed there as well since he had a canapy.  Woke up the next day covered in water lice.  Yuuuuccccckkkk

[lokidog]

I took a wildlife ecology class back in the 80's, covered a lot of things, including the recently posted "rice" in ducks.  Personally, I don't worry too much about stuff, if it looks yucky, like the "rice", don't eat it, if it smells nasty, don't eat it.  If you are worried about catching some blood-born thing, wear gloves when butchering or skinning.  Fleas, ticks, lice, yeah nasty, but mostly harmless IMHO.

Have you ever put a cleaned trout in a bowl overnight?  I've found worms in the bowl many times the next day, wonder how many I've eaten through the years....  Same thing with ocean fish, sometimes you can see the cysts and remove them but how many does a person miss?

You can probably get more out of a bunch of free internet searches (various state department of health sites) than you could out of a class that you would have to pay for.   

[quadrafire]

I have never heard of any classes like that for wildlife. My suggestion would be to look at and study as many "NORMAL" ones as you can, then you will recognize the "abnormal" or diseased.
From there an internet search would likely dial you in.

[WCTaxidermy]

 

Anything that might be harmful to you should be noticeable to you when you field dress your game.  I have been told that on Cottontail Rabbits, check the liver and if you find any discolorations to the liver, they may have that disease. (can't remember what it's called) I shoot a lot of rabbits and have never found one that was bad yet.

[ICEMAN]

I don't want to know...

I can deal with the rice duck issue.

I had a couple of rainbow caught in a mountain lake that had their intestinal cavity filled with long white worms. That'l turn your stomache. Wonder how many of those I have eated over the years...

[WCTaxidermy]

I had a couple of rainbow caught in a mountain lake that had their intestinal cavity filled with long white worms. That'l turn your stomache. Wonder how many of those I have eated over the years...

Hey Ice, it depends on how much hair you have lost.

[washelkhunter]

All wild game or fish carry parasites or diseases of one kind or another. They all should be considered to harbor worms at the least. Almost all are destroyed when cooked to a temp of 160 degrees internal temp. There is cause for concern when ever you are bisecting or transecting the spinal cord or messing with a brain now that CWD is about. This cannot be destroyed via high temp. CWD is the wild animal variant of mad cow disease.  If an animal looks healthy and well fed CWD is propbably not active but I consider all deer and elk to potentially harbor it. WDFW is doing a good job of monitoring the states wildlife for CWD. We dont want it confirmed here. Sensible precautions such as wearing good latex gloves when processing your game from field to at home should be standard practice.

[ICEMAN]

I had a couple of rainbow caught in a mountain lake that had their intestinal cavity filled with long white worms. That'l turn your stomache. Wonder how many of those I have eated over the years...

Hey Ice, it depends on how much hair you have lost.

 

[ICEMAN]

All wild game or fish carry parasites or diseases of one kind or another. They all should be considered to harbor worms at the least. Almost all are destroyed when cooked to a temp of 160 degrees internal temp. There is cause for concern when ever you are bisecting or transecting the spinal cord or messing with a brain now that CWD is about. This cannot be destroyed via high temp. CWD is the wild animal variant of mad cow disease.  If an animal looks healthy and well fed CWD is propbably not active but I consider all deer and elk to potentially harbor it. WDFW is doing a good job of monitoring the states wildlife for CWD. We dont want it confirmed here. Sensible precautions such as wearing good latex gloves when processing your game from field to at home should be standard practice.

I am guilty of never wearing anything when processing wild game. Just wipe my hands off and go... 

Does anyone wear protective gloves on deer and elk gutting, quartering and cutting later?

[quadrafire]

All wild game or fish carry parasites or diseases of one kind or another. They all should be considered to harbor worms at the least. Almost all are destroyed when cooked to a temp of 160 degrees internal temp. There is cause for concern when ever you are bisecting or transecting the spinal cord or messing with a brain now that CWD is about. This cannot be destroyed via high temp. CWD is the wild animal variant of mad cow disease.  If an animal looks healthy and well fed CWD is propbably not active but I consider all deer and elk to potentially harbor it. WDFW is doing a good job of monitoring the states wildlife for CWD. We dont want it confirmed here. Sensible precautions such as wearing good latex gloves when processing your game from field to at home should be standard practice.

I am guilty of never wearing anything when processing wild game. Just wipe my hands off and go... 

Does anyone wear protective gloves on deer and elk gutting, quartering and cutting later?

NO

[lokidog]

 

Sometimes, if it is really cold, I will for gutting because it is nicer to put clean hands back into warm gloves.  I always seem to cut the gloves somewhere though.

[300rum]

I carry latex gloves to gut or bone.  They hold up well and when I am done I don't have anything on me.  I try to stay as clean as possible. 

[ICEMAN]

Yeah, I may wanna wash up before eating and drinking next time...