Would you eat this bull?

[seattleman1969]

Central Montana

Yeah, this may be a result of CWD. I would definitely not eat it and turn over a sample to the local biologist to test. The extreme weight loss is very indicative of CWD. How old was the bull, ballpark?

 

[wyguide]

My wife killed her first bull on Halloween, and what started as a great day ended in disappointment. Antlers are cool, but we hunt for meat.
I don't want to be wasteful, and certainly don't want to throw away an elk that took all day to get out, but I'm really struggling with feeding my family with this.

He had a really nasty infection on the bottom of his brisket, that puss was bubbling out. The wound went into the lung cavity.
As you can see, he is very skinny.
I'm afraid the infection might be throughout his body.
You can see the bright viens all over his hide, I don't know that it's related, but I've never seen hide look like this.
Not sure what to do, this sucks.

 

[PApa Black]

My wife killed her first bull on Halloween, and what started as a great day ended in disappointment. Antlers are cool, but we hunt for meat.
I don't want to be wasteful, and certainly don't want to throw away an elk that took all day to get out, but I'm really struggling with feeding my family with this.

He had a really nasty infection on the bottom of his brisket, that puss was bubbling out. The wound went into the lung cavity.
As you can see, he is very skinny.
I'm afraid the infection might be throughout his body.
You can see the bright viens all over his hide, I don't know that it's related, but I've never seen hide look like this.
Not sure what to do, this sucks.

No way!

 

[warrbuk]

It was probably wounded in the rut by another bull. I killed a similar condition bull a couple years back on a NR Nevada tag. The smell from the off white puss would make you wretch. The bull was emaciated and its tendons were greenish yellow. The warden looked him over and told me his whole body was affected, and in a state of "sepsis" I asked if he would feed the meat to his family and he told me "No". I opted for another tag and killed a smaller bull the next year. the meat was great tho...

 

[Baylor243]

In my honest opinion, the bull in the pictures look bit poor, but nowhere near deaths door. Me personally, I'd give it a try. Send me a couple pounds of backstraps and I'll test them for ya.

I'd bet that bull got shot in bow season, my boy killed one like that before. We found the broadhead broken off in there and it appeared similar. We ditched all the meat and tissue around the wounded area and also chucked anything that smelled poorly. Otherwise it turned out just fine.

My wife also killed an oryx with a broken shoulder that was similar, but most likely was on the mend and free of infection by then. We ditched the shoulder. It ate good too.


JM

 

[mslman]

hard pass on eating it. If you love your dog, don't feed it to it either. Best thing to do it contact your DWR office and see what they are willing to do for you. Might give you a deprivation tag or put you in touch with a landowner that has some and may hook you up.

 

[JohnnieB]

Well first, Congrats to your Wife!

We are meat hunters too, and understand your dilemma. The infection has clearly spread and the bull's emaciated condition would lead me to believe the infection is likely spread to much more than just his lungs. I would pass on the meat. There is no reason to take a chance either for you or your dogs.

I make this call as I have been there with a couple hogs we have taken over the years. Took one here in CA many years ago that absolutely smelled like rot when we got to him. He had bad fight wounds all over him and all were gangrenous (sp?). We also took another hog in TX that appeared and smelled fine. When we opened her up to gut her, all her internal organs were blue and/or green and smelled funny. We passed on that one too.

We all try to be responsible as hunters, but we need to be safe, and the safety of our family comes first.

John

 

[Glenn Tullius]

I've certainly seen my share of Puncture wounds, and didn't eat anything within a foot, but nothing that smelled bad. It sucks for sure, but I wouldn't eat it, or feed it to anyone! I would for sure as mentioned, show the DNR that bull.

 

[Bwana Barry]

Great bull. Pity about the condition though.
Get an expert to diagnose (Fish and Game or your local vet).
Spoil your dogs and/or donate to local Animal Pound (SPCA?)

 

[drkemmet]

Be proud that she put him out of his misery. She'll always have that story. As said before, go to G&F and show them the photos and see if they'll issue a new tag. You can't get the time back of that hunt but maybe you will get another bull. They usually make accommodations for that kind of thing (euthanasia of an animal)

 

[AudentesFortunaJuvat]

Second the warden and biologist contact and getting an opinion. If it smells that bad it's likely to taste the same. Tough one, good luck on whatever decision.

 

[seattleman1969]

Ona positive note, if he was in that bad of shape, your wife saved him a painful slow death

 

[Ol' Red]

This is election year, we've all eaten enough bad BULL. Stay safe and discard the the meat. Congrats on a nice rack. Your wife certainly saved this animal a lot of suffering.

 

[Cinchy]

I did`nt take time to read all the comments, but I sure would not eat any part of any animal with puss running out of a wound ! It takes a while to get that infected & who knows how high his temperature was when he was shot? Here in Kansas you can take the animal to Fish & game & if they feel he is inedible, they will issue a replacement tag! That`s what I would do for sure, sucks you went to all the hard work of packing him out!