Rabbit liver with white spots.

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Rock Knocker

Active member
Well I just got a rabbit with a couple white spots on the liver, not too much.

Throwing rabbit away is enough to make me sick. As long as this thing is getting slow roasted what do you think are the problems?

I don't use rubber gloves for cleaning but I've gotten good at it and make a very little mess out of it.

I DON'T WANT TO THROW AWAY MY ANIMALS!!!
 
Upon closer investigation the liver drained a clear brown fluid, once I recovered from recoiling in horror I tossed it all.

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I thought cold weather is supposed to get rid of the rabbits that are infected... The last week has been mild temperatures but the week before the highs were in the single digits...

I hate throwing away meat.
 
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I only knew enough to watch for white spots. I've never seen this before but I've never cleaned so many rabbits, this is the first winter I've had my own yard to shoot rabbits in.

The experts on the internet all seem to say the first "hard frost" should kill off the infected ones. I haven't looked up the deffinition of a hard frost but I figure we must have had a couple of them by now up here
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What gives?
 
I check the liver on anything I clean, especially rabbits. We had a real epidemic of it back in the 60's and 70's when I was a kid. Pretty much wiped out our rabbits for a while. My dad said it was the same back in the 30's when he was a kid. He's the one that taught me about it.

However, I did raise domestic rabbits as a kid, and sold them believe it or not to local supermarkets. (try doing that now) Anyway, we got some livers with spots on them, and took them to a our local extension agency. They checked them and said it was simply pneumonia and the meat was fine.

We didn't have any further problems,so evidently they were correct.

But I would just throw them away, your simply doing what nature is going to do in a few more days.
 
I also hate throwing meat away...but you likely put down an animal that was or was soon going to suffer and die...

I was told when I started hunting to look at the liver for white spots and the guy who taught the hunter safety course had a pamphlet and passed it out and went over it....he was very concerned that we might not check and would eat infected meat....So I just dump em if the liver has any spots at all
 
I used to run beagles and have killed hundreds (and hundreds) of rabbits. You are more in danger of "problems" cleaning the rabbit than you are in eating him. I do now wear gloves when dressing any small game.. but as far as the liver on a rabbit - if the rabbit appears to be healthy.. I dress them and eat them.
 
Originally Posted By: Rock KnockerWell I just got a rabbit with a couple white spots on the liver, not too much.

Throwing rabbit away is enough to make me sick. As long as this thing is getting slow roasted what do you think are the problems?

I don't use rubber gloves for cleaning but I've gotten good at it and make a very little mess out of it.

I DON'T WANT TO THROW AWAY MY ANIMALS!!!

Cooking doesn't kill the Tularemia.
 
Originally Posted By: BearI was told that cooking well done killed the bacteria.

In researching I found a site that says cooking well done does kill the Tularemia. My information is a lot of years old. I still wouldn't do it.
 
I guess we all look at a liver with spots differently.
Years ago, as a raiser of domestic rabbits spots were common.It was considered to be a sign that the animal had cocciddosis at some stage in its life but nothing was wrong with the meat as far as human consuumsion goes.
This ole country boy has et a lot of bunnies with spotted livers, so far it has not infected me, I am only 79 so maybe it will eventually though.

Just my take on the spotted liver thing.
Hope this helps.
The old geeze from the hills of Iowa......
 
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