Is it True?

[littletoes]

Does Bear meat really carry the same worms that pork carries?

I've heard folks talk about it, but have never known if it was factual.
Thanks Guys!

[BLKBEARKLR]

http://www.epi.hss.state.ak.us/bulletins/docs/b2000_18.htm

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/26061/newsDate/16-Jul-2004/story.htm

[bobcat]

Yes it can.

Trichinosis-  Google it.

[PWN Kurt]

Yep...but only more tasty worms!

I cooked the heck out of my bear last year and it still tasted like the filet mignon.

Kurt

[Huntbear]

So if you are smoking some sausage or a ham, how hot does it need to be to kill this stuff??

[Ellensburg]

who cares? Worms are great diet food.

[bearpaw]

University of MT did a study on trichenosis in MT animals.....something like 17% of bear checked and 42% of cougar checked carried trichenosis.

I know of several cases where somebody made bear jerky, took it to work, and a half dozen people caught trichenosis.

Check This Page....http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/trichinosis/factsht_trichinosis.htm

What is trichinellosis?  
Trichinellosis, also called trichinosis, is caused by eating raw or undercooked meat of animals infected with the larvae of a species of worm called Trichinella. Infection occurs commonly in certain wild carnivorous (meat-eating) animals but may also occur in domestic pigs.

What are the symptoms of a trichinellosis infection?
Nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, fatigue, fever, and abdominal discomfort are the first symptoms of trichinellosis. Headaches, fevers, chills, cough, eye swelling, aching joints and muscle pains, itchy skin, diarrhea, or constipation follow the first symptoms. If the infection is heavy, patients may experience difficulty coordinating movements, and have heart and breathing problems. In severe cases, death can occur.

For mild to moderate infections, most symptoms subside within a few months. Fatigue, weakness, and diarrhea may last for months.

Am I at risk for trichinellosis?
If you eat raw or undercooked meats, particularly bear, pork, wild feline (such as a cougar), fox, dog, wolf, horse, seal, or walrus, you are at risk for trichinellosis.

How can I prevent trichinellosis?
Cook meat products until the juices run clear or to an internal temperature of 170 F.
Freeze pork less than 6 inches thick for 20 days at 5 o F to kill any worms.
Cook wild game meat thoroughly. Freezing wild game meats, unlike freezing pork products, even for long periods of time, may not effectively kill all worms.
Cook all meat fed to pigs or other wild animals.
Do not allow hogs to eat uncooked carcasses of other animals, including rats, which may be infected with trichinellosis.
Clean meat grinders thoroughly if you prepare your own ground meats.
Curing (salting), drying, smoking, or microwaving meat does not consistently kill infective worms.

[billythekidrock]

Does Bear meat really carry the same worms that pork carries?

I've heard folks talk about it, but have never known if it was factual.
Thanks Guys!

Yes. Don't kill or eat them.

[Houndhunter]

ya but they will die atleast if you get them, they ball up in your muscle and will just cause some soreness. round and tape worms are the bad ones, thorny headed worms sound awful but i dont think we can get them

[smitty]

During college my roomate shot a bear and we decided to make jerky out of the meat.  We marinated the meat and one saturday I decided to try making some on my food dehydrator.  I put the meat in the dehydrator and it started smelling great and doing it's thing.  About two hours went by and so I checked on the meat and it had not been dehydrating at all.  It kept smelling good and when I went to go check on it was not working.  This went on for hours and finally I went to bed that night hopeing for the best in the morning.  When I woke up the meat had not been dehydrating at all.  It turns out that everytime I went into the garage and turned on the light, the outlet would be supplied with power.  Hence the meat would start smelling good.  When I would leave I would turn off the light and the outlet was without power.  When I awoke in the morning there were bee's and flys around the dehydrator.  We decided to throw the meat out and after doing so, my roomate put a chew in (without washing his hands) and around 8 hours later was in the hospital vomiting, and crapping his brains out.  He ended up spending 4 days in the hospital and the doctor said he almost died.  It is quite a funny story now but at the time it was pretty serious!  We still laugh about it to this day.  So make sure you wash your hands and cook your meat well done!

[blindpig]

Its Kosher, who cares.

[h2ofowlr]

My friend was telling me of a bear that got shot a little farther back.  There was a large tape type worm they pulled out of the guts.  When they opened it up it was full of worms.  Fire up the skillet extra hot.

[Armadillo]

omg smitty thats a crazy story! further advises one to always wash up after handling the meat

[singleshot12]

It's always wise to freeze your bear carcuss for atleast 30 days prior to cut and wrapping. Most butchers won't even touch the meat until after then. It will help kill trichinosis too.

[shadowless_nite]

so after reading this, being new to hunting and never putting a bear down i was curious to know what would the best method be for making bear jerky??

im currently putting my weekends this month towards bear hunting and was hoping to make some nice supplies of bear jerky if i was lucky enough to kill one but after reading these posts i am now questioning the idea. is there any sure way to kill these before making jerky? will curing in the oven kill them? or smoking the jerky instead?? perhaps a combined of frozen storage and oven curing?

i really want to make my own jerky and process the meat myself, but if its my safety and health i would rather have a pro make it for me.

[singleshot12]

FREEZE THE MEAT SOLID FOR ATLEAST A MONTH

[rasbo]

never heard of having the meat frozen for a month.I get my bears back in about a week.Pigs are not frozen for a month either.The ones we butchered 3days hang time and out.Never had bear jerky made,but after a brine bath and brought up to temp should be okay.Seems it would be more cooked than dried

[SHANE(WA)]

i shot a bear one year that was crawling with white worms about 3-5" long, looked like spaghetti crawling around in its hindquarters, horror flick looking stuff, guts full too, disgusting.Friend of mine got a really bad rash on his hands and arm, looked like psoriasis, come to find out it was a fungus from the bears hide

[rasbo]

i shot a bear one year that was crawling with white worms about 3-5" long, looked like spaghetti crawling around in its hindquarters, horror flick looking stuff, guts full too, disgusting.Friend of mine got a really bad rash on his hands and arm, looked like psoriasis, come to find out it was a fungus from the bears hide

One of my friends killed an elk like that,the wdfw gave him another tag after a game officer looked at the elk..He didnt fill the other tag

[SHANE(WA)]

i tagged it, last weekend i was hunting bears anyways. My dad shot a buck one year, we cut into the hindquarter and it started oozing pus, game dept issued another tag

[Maligator]

Does the weather have anything to do with the prevelance of worms in the species?    I know back in Michigan we wait until after the first good frost to hunt rabbits to reduce the possibility of a worm infestation. Just curious about things out here in the west as I am a newcomer to the area.

[SHANE(WA)]

i dont think so, this bear was shot late in the season