How to Avoid Wildlife Diseases When Field Dressing

As a big game hunter taking to the wild, you are probably looking forward to an exciting outdoor experience, an adventurous good time and the big kill ahead. There is something else that you should be concerned about as well. Wildlife diseases can devastate animal populations. If you are about to embark on the hunting trip of a lifetime, be knowledgeable about the diseases that wildlife carry, such as chronic wasting disease (CWD) and bovine tuberculosis. You'll need to take steps to put safety first when you are handling and field dressing your kill.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Rubber gloves
• Water
• Knives
• Soap
• Bleach
• Ice bags
• Saw

Avoid Wildlife Diseases When Field Dressing

1. Avoid shooting any wildlife that appears sick or is acting unusual.

2. Look at your kill before dressing it. If you kill wild game, and then discover the animal is unhealthy, do not field dress it.

3. Wash your hands with soap and water before and after touching the meat.

4. Do not eat and drink while you are field dressing wild game.

5. Avoid cross-contamination between the entrails and the other parts of the animal. If there is any contact, the meat is contaminated. Cut it off and throw it away.

6. Check for any abnormalities in wildlife when field dressing. Nodules or lumps in the lungs or on the chest wall can be signs of tuberculosis.

7. Bone and trim all lymph nodes and fatty tissues from game meat and discard them. CWD is linked to brain, spinal column and lymphoid tissues.

8. Wear rubber or latex gloves when field dressing and removing antlers.

9. Clean saws and knives with a solution of household bleach. Mix 4 parts bleach with 6 parts water.

10. Field dress wildlife immediately after slaughter. Hang the carcass up by the head, so that the body cavity can drain.

11. Cool animal carcasses with ice bags placed directly into the body cavity.

12. Keep flies away from the carcass of wildlife. Flies spread disease.

13. Do not cut through the bones or the spinal column of deer.

Tips & Warnings

• Regular cooking will kill almost all diseases. Cook all game meat to a temperature of at least 165 degrees F.
• Sometimes, deer exhibiting symptoms associated with CWD, such as sluggish behavior and poor body condition, are not diseased. They may have just survived a very long, harsh winter or been hit by a car.
• There is no research suggesting that a human has ever been infected with CWD or that CWD can be transmitted to humans or their pets.

Who Can Help:

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