Safe to eat squirrels harvested in the suburbs?

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paparoof

New member
I need some help from y'all to get myself out of trouble.

My ex-wife is mad at me for letting the kids eat a squirrel I shot in our backyard. Before eating it, I read enough to convince me that it's okay, but I was reading hunting forums. She's not the type to believe what hunters say, but she would believe the DNR or EPA or FDA or some such "authoritative" entity. I know... I rolled my eyes too.

Can anyone provide me with a link to some authoritative website showing that even the squirrels in suburbia are safe to eat as long as they don't have mange or worms or some kind of discoloration in the meat? I'm actually certified by the state of MN in food safety so I assure you I used safe food handling practices while skiing and gutting the animal. Washed it and cooked it very thoroughly as well. And no, we didn't eat the brains.

Here's her email that I need to respond to:
"squirel would be a VERY bad choice esp. living in a populated area where they feed on polluted vegetation and probably also eat ROAD KILL that fester after death and feed on polluted vegetation before they die. Seriously, it's no joke. If you are actually feeding them squirel, you may think it is novel, but actually you are feeding them carcinogeous toxins in concentrated amounts and you need to stop immediately."

I really appreciate any help y'all can provide. The kids and I thought the squirrel was quite delicious! In fact, I thought it really did taste a lot like chicken!
 
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And no, we didn't eat the brains.




come on they are the best part.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


Zach
 
Quote:


Here's her email that I need to respond to:
"squirel would be a VERY bad choice esp. living in a populated area where they feed on polluted vegetation and probably also eat ROAD KILL that fester after death and feed on polluted vegetation before they die. Seriously, it's no joke. If you are actually feeding them squirel, you may think it is novel, but actually you are feeding them carcinogeous toxins in concentrated amounts and you need to stop immediately."





No wonder she's your ex, GEEEEZ. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif LMAO!!! I never knew Suberbia had such a problem with polluted vegetation and carnivorous road kill eating squirrels (with the polluted vegetation I guess they had to resort to eating meat). Truth is that the meat probably has less of ANYTHING bad in it than any store bought meat /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif. That's too funny Paparoof!
 
yeah no kidding. did I mention my backyard is a small oak forest? I'm pretty sure the squirrels in my backyard eat nothing but acorns and stolen birdseed from the neighbors feeders.

but I need to reply with an inarguable source.... I wonder if it's too late to get a Suburban Squirrel Meat Safety Study added into this latest "stimulus" bill?
 
The only thing I watch out for is Tularemia. Yellow spots on their liver. We have a real bad problem with it where I am from. The rabbits have it real bad certain years. If they have a real bad case of fleas, they usually have it. Some of the squirrels I have shot have had real bad fleas and one had yellow spots on its liver. Supposedly if you cook it good enough it wont hurt you, but why take the chance. The coyotes and coons could use a free meal sometimes.
 
oh yeah - thanks for the reminder. I read about tularemia before killing and eating this squirrel and I did inspect the liver for yellow spots and found it was pristine. I just added that into the email I'm working on.
 
Sometimes esier to say sorry and next time cook one with a chicken and keep it to your self. My kids grew up saying they would never eat deer meat. Man surprized they didn't grow antlers from all they ate LOL Just never told them I ground whole deers into hamburger for years.
 
excerpt from wilkipedia

[edit] As a food source

A grey squirrel eating a nutSquirrel meat is considered a favored meat in certain regions of the United States[17] where it can be listed as wild game.[18] This is evidenced by extensive recipes for its preparation found in cookbooks, including older copies of The Joy of Cooking. Squirrel meat can be exchanged for rabbit or chicken in recipes, though it can have a gamey taste. Unlike the healthfulness of most game meat, the American Heart Association has found squirrels to be high in cholesterol.[19]


[edit] In the U.S.
In many areas of the U.S., particularly areas of the American South, squirrels are hunted for food.[20] Republican Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee used his experiences eating squirrel to support his "folksy" image during the South Carolina primary, saying that "When I was in college, we used to take a popcorn popper, because that was the only thing they would let us use in the dorm, and we would fry squirrels in a popcorn popper in the dorm room."[20] He later told Meet the Press anchor Tim Russert that squirrel constitutes "a Southern delicacy".[20]


[edit] In the U.K.
For most of the history of the United Kingdom, squirrel has been a meat not commonly eaten, and even scorned by many.[21]

But in the early 21st century, wild squirrel has become a more popular meat to cook with,[22] showing up in restaurants and shops more often in Britain as a fashionable alternative meat.[21] Specifically, U.K. citizens are cooking with the invasive gray squirrel, which is being praised for its low fat content and the fact that it comes from free range sources.[22] Additionally, the novelty of a meat considered unusual or special has added to the spread of squirrel consumption.[21] Due to the difficulty of a clean kill and other factors, the majority of squirrel eaten in the U.K. is acquired from professional hunters, trappers, and gamekeepers.[21]

Some British are eating the gray squirrel as a direct attempt to help the native red squirrel, which has been dwindling since the introduction of the gray squirrel in the 19th century.[21] This factor was marketed by a national "Save Our Squirrels" campaign that used the slogan, “Save a red, eat a gray!”[21]
RR
 
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If you are actually feeding them squirel, you may think it is novel, but actually you are feeding them carcinogeous toxins in concentrated amounts and you need to stop immediately.


/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
paparoof, this is the funniest post I have read in long time.

"...actually feeding them squirel.." Ha, ha,.. you really have her guessing now. She's not shure if you are that crazy or not.

"..you need to stop immediately". Oh, yes dear right away. I'll stop.
Oh, wait !
We're not married any more.
I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

PC
 
well around here its common practice to feed stock cattle and beef to be sold for slaughter chicken manure mixed in with the grain silage.
reckon your ex prefers "chicken $hit beef" to wild game.

Ron White said it best.... "Ya can't fix stupid!"
RR
 
Shoot. If the kids liked the squirel that much or at all I would be buying some corn and feeders to fatten them up a lil and make a monthly meal for the kids out of it. My dad feed cow tounge to me and the kids for years before he told us why that roast beef was so tender.
 
Write her back,

Dear ex

Skwirls dont eat meat you twit, and to eat them is perfectly safe. As long as the kids are in this house they will eat as they and I so choose. If you dont like them eating wild game I would suggest cutting my child support by 200 dollars a month so I can afford to buy food from the store.

-------------------------------------------------

Then see what that gets ya!
 
My opinion is this - Why do you have to prove that squirrels are safe to eat? Does she have proof from a reputable source that they are not safe? Otherwise it sounds like she's just going on an ex-wife rant about anything she can try to find fault with. I'd make her come up with the proof to back her accusations. I wish you well.
 
I never knew squirels ate meat until years ago I saw one come out of my apartment dumpster with a t-bone almost as big as him. He sat down at the base of a tree by the dumpster and gnawed that thing all day, meat bone and all.
Later I read that they'll take eggs and birds out of a nest if they get the chance.

Just last week I came home from work early and there were 7 in my bird feeder. Now there's only 5 left, and only 1 brave enough to come back to the feeder. I'm eating the last of the 2 for lunch today, carcinogenous toxins and all. Figured I fed em' why should the stray cats get all the meat.

Neither really helps you, except to say that I'm still alive.
 
Tell her that I worked at EPA for 7 years and have been an environmental scientist for over 35 years.

I grew up hunting squirrels in the woods behind my parents house.

I also took Wildlife Biology Classes at Purdue where I studied to become a veterinarian. I had to take classes in Animal Nutrition as well as Chemistry and Biochemistry along with Organic Chemistry. I also took many classes in Environmental Ecology, pathology along with biology and zoology.

Tell her that Fox squirrels are not carnivores ( they don't' eat meat) and they feed primarily on nuts. I have been observing the local fox squirrels feeding on my maple tree's buds this winter.

We studied the Fox and Gray Squirrel in my Wildlife Biology 483 Class at Purdue University.

I also have worked for several Environmental testing laboratories and was the Quality Control Manager at two of them. So I oversaw the testing of many pollutant by our college chemists. We testing for all types of pollutants and had laboratories world wide. I consulted with our lab in Singapore on how to sample for Asbestos Fibers in the air. They had an old ship that had asbestos inside it and need to test the air for asbestos.

I have been taking and analyzing water and air samples for the last 30 years. I worked hand in hand with USEPA folks up in Region V and IDEM APCD folks in Indianapolis IN.

I attended school at Purdue where I got my degree in Environmental Science and the Conservation of Natural Resources. I have attended USEPA 40 hour short course in air sampling and also stack testing. I attended classes at Texas A&M and the University of Alabama Birmingham.

I can tell your X wife that your son is pretty safe eating fox squirrel. I would worry more about the disease mentioned above (yellow spots on the liver) and lead shotgun pellets. The lead pellets are hard on the teeth if you bite down on them and swallowing the lead pellets can give you some lead poisoning.

Unless the hickory trees are full of pesticides or PCB's I see no reason to worry about the squirrels feeding on them.

I have eaten plenty of squirrels and rabbits that I shot over the years and I have been tested for PCB, Asbestos and other heavy metals. The Doctors found nothing detectable in my blood.

So tell her she is worrying way too much with regard to your son and you eating some squirrels that you shot. I personally hunt squirrels with a 22 rifle and go for the head shots so as not to spoil the meat. But I have taken my fair share of those tree rats with my trusty 12 gage Remington Wingmaster Shotgun.

And if she doubts what I say I'll call up my college roommate at Cornell University where he works at a Doctor of Pathology at the University. He worked for many years at the University of Florida after getting his degree in Veternary Medicine. His older brother also graduated from Purdues Vet school and was a veternary professor at Texas A&M for years. Both these guys have been publishing their research for many years now. They are some of the best in the business.
 
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If you dont like them eating wild game I would suggest cutting my child support by 200 dollars a month so I can afford to buy food from the store.



/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
sounds like you have some "perspective" on this subject....

I wonder if I should tell her about the possum I just shot outta the kids' treehouse 15 minutes ago?
 
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