about 6 weeks ago on my first stop I got bit thru my boot by a nice extra large red fox.one fang went in to my leg about 1/4 inch.I put him in the truck and set him off to the side.by the time the day was done I had forgot all about it.I skined all the fox.I got out of the fur shed late and did not rember until I took my socks off.Now I had no fox head to take in,A nice line out so I did not do anything.O well time the foxs won one.

I would be so worried about Rabies as I would be with Distemper. That is one that if you have a small cut on your hand it can cause some serous issues. Little fact 85% of skunks carry it in the sliva. I guess for the cost of gloves seems like cheap insurance. But then again once Parvo moves in it takes out everything with it in short order. The best thing is it's carried by a good majority of stray cats and dogs.

yup what kinkless said ive heard of stray cats having parvo not good either

Go get you a box of latex gloves. They come in handy for many other task as well as skinning animals. I wouldn't take a chance on catching parasites and such if I could help it.

thought contracted rabies threw saliva....(sp)

BTW, as was said, It is NOT just rabies that is the problem either. I can not remember the name of it, but there is a Worm, I believe, In coons that can be fatal to humans as well.
None of these are worth the risk.

might it be brain worm,i read an article about a trapper in a depressed area that carried the rabies virus at the time they didnot have the advanced medical knowledge they have today.The article talked about how this trapper got exposed to rabies and never had treatments and survived most likely a rare case.

if it looks sickley leave it alone I have never wore gloves but there is a chance I am guessing but cooking like ivan you would never know .but you should beable to tell if it is sick.I always have hydrogen peroxide handy and I lied about the gloves . If I suspect that there could be an issue with an animal I will use gloves or just pitch it.for the most part if you catch an animal they would be a healthy one if your setting for there senses like food smell ect. and if they did have somthing and were not sick that would also say that the sickness in them is not at an elevated state . just be carful and clean your self up if you fear it wear gloves.couldn't even geuss the number of critters that I have skun in my life. I have no clue way to many to count just this year over 500 well maby 400 or more as I did not skin any possom going lower as I type more in the range of 375 . but handled atleast 500 dead critters.close enough that that is the number I will use.that is a typical year and multuply that by the number of years hunting and trapping thats 10,000 that is just since I was 20 I started at age 11 so tack another 5,000 animals to that . I know there are lots of people that have tons more than that. I only used gloves on a couple like 5 of them maby.ate lots of wild game in my life one might have had somthing who knows . the sickest I have ever gotten is when I drank out of a creek was so thirsty that will never happen again.do at your own risk and what you feel safe at.don't go by what other think I myself think that I would be safe as long as I watch and look at what I am skinning always have and always will.road kill I will either not skin or will wear gloves don't know why they were walking on the road ,disease . thats all I have to say about that says forrest.

I never wore gloves untill 3 yrs. ago. as a furbuyer I have skinneed countless animals. The main reason I started wearing gloves ,is, I was tired of my hands getting sore and cracking from all the dried blood on them. Maybe I was lucky, but I doubt it.

Here's ,y 2 cents. The guy that taught me taxidermy, had someone bring him a roadkill fox to mount. HE skinned it and started the process'. A couple weeks later he started feeling like he had a cold, it kept getting worse. Until he woke up one morning and was blind. That's right couldn't see a dang thing. Went to hospital and they started testing. Couldn't find out what was wrong, but he kept getting worse. He ended up on life support before the doctors asked him if he was bitten by a spider or something. The light bulb kicked on then, he told them about being a taxidermist, they treated it but now he carries it for life. Every Dec 11 he has to go get shots, if he misses it by a few days, he will die. If you get it, it's for life. I remember Dec 11, every time I skin one, right as I am grabbing for the rubber gloves. It's easier to use rubber gloves than go throught the hassle of getting rabies.

I guess getting rabies would be a big hassle,you are going to die from it. Death is a pretty big hassle in my opinion. I sure would like to avoid it as long as possible.

Cooking any meat through and through will take care of most any parasite.....as far as I now...all of them in fact. That does not mean I would still try to eat something I knew had a disease. I only have two brain cells still working...aint about to take a stupid chance with either of them. LOL

There are many different parasites out there in the critters we all chase.....just a few years ago here they found a coon that tested positive for leaprosy......now that one skeered me bad.

As I said earlier, I use gloves most of the time, but I won't not skin or gut a critter if I don't have them for some reason. Unless it looks sick or not acting right, then I toss it.

I skinned all my critters for years without gloves. But then I also worked on accident victims years ago without gloves too. Smart? probable Not, but thats just how it was.
After my son got cat scratch fever and yes it is real and more than a song. The wife and I had to talk with the county infectious disease doctor. When he found out I was handling wild critter, skunks being the worst. He advised me to get a pre-exposure rabies vacination. I don't recall how many years ago that was. I know I've had one booster since the original. I just had a physical the other day and had the test done to check the tidder. If I need it the doc will call and I'll get a booster again.
When it is all said and done the gloves are cheap front line insurance. I wear them for everything now even changing the oil on my car. Best part is when the phone rings or ya got to pee, ya pull them off and your good to go.

Mac

The only time I wear gloves is when pulling a hide...it's just easier that way. I find it slows down my knife work a lot though....

I always figured I have a far greater risk of Giardia, or "beaver fever" than I do rabies anyway....gloves won't help prevent that when you fall off a log or tip the canoe over and end up over your head in hog, chicken, turkey and beaver crap. The only prevention is keep your fingers out of your mouth, and keep your lips shut.

bsd,
You have received some creditable advice in this thread and you have received some absolutely bogus information. I recommend that you conduct some research on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) web site. Good place to start would be http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/ques&ans/q&a.htm For additional information, check out some of the links that are available on the CDC site. You will find more factual information there, in an hour, than you will get here in a month. You can also find information there on Parvo, distemper, raccoon roundworm, histoplasmosis and many other transmittable wildlife diseases. Our tax dollars funded most of the research that went into developing this information; use it. Another good site for information on wildlife diseases is http://icwdm.org/diseases/default.asp .

Ron Fry

Ivan,

Use your brain.

"For example IF a rabbit has rabies and i cooked and ate it, will i be ok?is it safe to it it?"

Of course you can eat it. That's not the problem! The problem/danger is in the skinning and dressing of the rabbit!


Once during my game warden days, I received a call from the Superendant of one of the State Parks. He had found a dead deer,
which he believed had been killed by poachers. He wanted to know if he could process the deer, and give the meat to a local school.

As that was a legal use for illegaly taken game, I said yes. A couple of hours later, he called me back, and told me that he didn't know what killed the deer as they found no wounds or brusies on the carcass.

Suspecting rabies, as we were in the midst of an epidemic of the stuff, I collected the head.

You guessed it. He and his two employees had to take post exposure shots.

Adios,
45/70,

What PSB said!

I’d really like to know the percentage of people who contracted any disease from handling dead animals without gloves. Out of the millions of folks that field dressed and butchered game or skinned probably tens of millions of furbearers, I bet it’s a ridiculously tiny fraction.

Still, I guess wearing gloves can’t hurt anything can it?

great insight glad I asked, thanks. I'm leaning twored glove usage now, lol. Ya know if a critter on the end of a drowner or in a coni, is probably not going to show to many signs, of illness either.Special thanks to LA. and trophyhunter "you will surly die now" lol.