BreezyCooking
Washing Up
Some of you may have seen a story in the news last Thursday about a bear (which ended up testing positive for rabies) attacking a family in their Maryland home.
I'm not a hunter, but do know that a lot of folks around here in Virginia do hunt - & eat - black bear. So my question is, if you hunt bear & do kill one, how do you know whether or not it has rabies - especially if it's just in the early stages? I'd think that butchering & then eating the meat would pretty much put you in the thick of it, wouldn't it?
I guess the same would go for other rabies-carrying creatures that some people hunt & eat, like woodchucks & raccoons. I doubt hunters have these animals tested before eating them, but was wondering if anyone has a protocol they follow - especially these days when rabid animals seem to be popping up more & more (at least here in the Mid-Atlantic).
I'm not a hunter, but do know that a lot of folks around here in Virginia do hunt - & eat - black bear. So my question is, if you hunt bear & do kill one, how do you know whether or not it has rabies - especially if it's just in the early stages? I'd think that butchering & then eating the meat would pretty much put you in the thick of it, wouldn't it?
I guess the same would go for other rabies-carrying creatures that some people hunt & eat, like woodchucks & raccoons. I doubt hunters have these animals tested before eating them, but was wondering if anyone has a protocol they follow - especially these days when rabid animals seem to be popping up more & more (at least here in the Mid-Atlantic).