Eating wild rabbit in summer months??

Whats your opinion on eating wild rabbit in the summer months ?I’ve always heard that they’ve had worms or something this time of year. Not sure if this is an old wives tale or if there’s actually something to it? I normally just let them be but there is so many this year they have really become a nuisance. I’ve never seen so many of them every time you step out in the yard three or four of them take off running. in the last two weeks I’ve had a vacuum line for the four-wheel-drive on one vehicle chewed off by them (caught them in the act )the wiring harness on a trailer chewed up ( again watched them in the act) and most of the beans and peas in the garden have been mowed down .( they fit through bottom of wire fencing) The fencing can be fixed easy enough,just havent got around to yet..So just wondering if I was to thin the local population down a little bit do you all think I’d have any issues with keeping and eating the meat this tiem of year?

And just to clarify yes this would be legal since this is on my personal propert so regular season structure does not apply.

If you don't want to eat em, you can always use em for bait. Sorry, not much help with the worm thing though.

They can carry tularimia. You dont want to get it from eating them. Eat only after the 1st hard frost, and months that end in ary.

The rabbits have already done the damage, so wait for a month with an R in it which is not that far off, and enjoy them then. The R month advice was for Tularemia, as sick bunnies are the ones which you will shoot as the others run away.

Odd you do not have enough horned owls and fox to keep then thinned as most areas have too many predators.

Common vernacular is. Rabbit wolves. They are large (1/2”x1/4”) flesh eating maggot that is the same critter as cattle grubs. They are the larvae of the Bott Fly.

wild bunny myth or fact
Was interested in this and did quick search and found this.

I like to go out early in the morning with an ice chest. Shoot three or four off gravel roads. Dress them and put the meat on the ice. Put the livers in a styrofoam cup and use them to catch a few channel cats. Toss them in with the rabbits for the ride home

good read krispcrittter , thanks for sharing

You kill a rabbit that has a bott fly living under its skin you won’t have to wonder about it. It will be real obvious.
It is not that the temp drop kills the larva they crawl out of the cyst they created an drop to the ground to continue their life cycle. If you find one while skinning just cut out the affected area and wash well should be good enough.
Or as said earlier use for bait. Fall and winter is for hunting Spring and summer is for fishing , with a few exceptions of course.

I had also read an article similar to that one a while back.

with gloves clean and cook fully it can be disgusting pre-hard-frost but if handled properly not any more dangerous. than in fall or winter.

no

I'll still err on the side of caution and eat mine in the late fall and winter. Sadly Elmer Fudd will no longer shoot any!

I typically don't shoot them in the summer because it is unpleasant skinning them while covered in flies.

Rabbit season is closed here this time of year. But squirrel is open... A couple years back I shot one in late May. It fell out of the tree right at my feet. The blowflies were trying to tote him away before he hit the ground.

I pretty much gave up warm weather hunting after that. Lol

Mike

If you wait until killing freeze on the public ground around here you wont see many rabbits . The st louis beagle hunters are there for the 1st of october opener

Yes you can eat Summer rabbits.They may have worbels,which are botfly larva.The larva are ugly but don't get in the meat and won't hurt you.Squirrels get them as well.Many don't want to eat rabbits with the bot fly larva,because,like I said,they are ugly.The stuff about frost and months with an R, have nothing to do with tuleremia-absolutely nothing.

The truth is,the frost stuff is about the bot fly and their larvae.Botfly larvae drop off the host after something like 6 weeks.After one or two frosts,there are no active botfly,so,, no new eggs get laid.Therefore,no worbeworkers.,

Tuleremia can be any time of year,is not affected by cold and also occurs in beaver and muskrats.Skin rabbits with disposable gloves and look at the liver,as soon as the cavity is open.If you see ivory colored spots all over the liver,that is tularemia.You can still cook the animal well and eat it but I choose not to.Often tuleremia is contracted through a cut or scratch but not always.It can happen through skin contact,hand to face or even airborne and it can put you in the hospital or even be fatal.I have never killed a rabbit with visual evidence of tuleremia,but if I do,that rabbit is gone,period.This also goes for muskrat and beavers.Be careful.

I have eaten Summer rabbits with worbels.I love to use the heads and hides for bait.If you don't like the looks of worbelsdon't, eat them but let's not spread any stories regarding them.Tuleremia is truly dangerous and can occur in animals that we skin by the hundreds and trappers don't even think about it,yet they worry about a worker because it looks ugly.

I've also been told that they have worms and not to eat rabbits if they werent killed in a month that had r in it

Taxi Nailed it. I forgot about them being called worbles.

Good write up. Thanks for the clarification. I learned something new.

Warbles are delicious lightly charred over a wood fire.
I guess anyone in the deep south, waiting for the first frost, can never eat rabbits.
Rabbits should not be eaten by males with a 'Nancy' in their name...

Thanks everyone I appreciate the insights and responses. So from what I’ve gathered here and elsewhere it seems to me that as long as the meat is properly cooked that other than the unsightliness of the botflie larvae there really shouldn’t be any additional issues that would not otherwise be encountered when consuming wild rabbit meat. Just make sure its cooked to proper temp...

Really good article krispcritter. Thanks.

I see less fleas, ticks, tapeworms, liver flukes, etc in rabbits in winter than summer.
The points about Tularemia, warbles, etc in that article, and this thread, seem valid.

I ate a few last month that were in my garden. There are still a few out there that need to go but they are harder to see now the garden is up. Im still alive. Just cook it well done.

I et rabbit in the summer.
Some years they get the tick infestation,I dont bother with them when they get the ticks.

I eat rabbits in the summer. Our season starts in September. Just don't shoot anything that looks sick.

Garryowen

If well and thoroughly cooked, they will be safe to eat. The danger of disease comes from handling the animal with cut's etc on your hands, wear rubber gloves like for all fur put up..

That's good advice Big Bob
High school student died here in the 70's from cleaning a squirrel bare handed.

This comment is based on tradition, not science. Shoot rabbits to eat in any month with an "R" in it.

No

That's just what my father says and he's been right enough for me to not want to stray away from what he says

Same deal with my Grandpa and Father, why take a chance ?
And it has to run first.

I'll stick with what I've been taught. And look at the liver for white spots..

THIS comment is based on tradition...I can't speak for the science, but again, if you're unsure and you trap...keep them for bait!

if you dont want to eat them, if they are not tearing up your garden, then dont shoot them. waste not want not

I learn something from this post, I was always taught to not eat the rabbits till first frost also like some stated Now I know different. The season here open Sept 1 and tree rats, I was wondering why since for shooting them would be a waste , now I know it will not be and like any other animal to eat always check the liver. I do on all.

Yup! No strawberry livers.

I have shot hundreds of them in the summer month for table fare. But the rest of you better stay safe and only shoot them in month with an X in them.

Rabbits here are very good in august-young of year are very tender.

Season don't open here till October.Thats ok cause I don't want to eat wormy rabbits anyhow.

They wont hurt ya after breathing all the bat shat.LOL>

Its ok....you're not starving in Europe anymore. It takes a few generations to understand that. No need to eat rabbits that have that risk.

Good grief, I don't think Simon Kenton gave two shakes, eat'em.

LOL,lesser of two evils I guess.Do you have cottontails there or just snowshoes/

Y? LOL !

Where are all the guys who wanted to tar and feather Mark for trapping coyotes during the summer who might have a litter of pups not yet weined? I think these bunnies take a lot or pride in keeping a nest full of fur balls all summer long.

We ate lots of cotton tails when I was a kid, Dad always said only kill and eat them in months with an "R" in them. Not sure that helps about the worm thing

The better you are the more haters you have. Jealousy ?

It is possible I suppose.
I can about guarantee land owners in Texas are happy to see a man who can thin out the coyotes or hogs any time of year. To all the guys who worried about pups doing without, I doubt they have found the horrors of a dead calf and a mutilated momma cow.