Originally Posted by
MudderChuck
In my oppinion, it is all about probability. Less exposure less chance, more exposure the higher the chance. I had Tulerimia which was sure enough an eye opener for me, I was as strong and healthy as I'd ever been when I got it, I was circling the drain there for a few days, at my age now it would likely kill me. My hunting buddy got a Tape Worm, no idea how. I've gutted animals before and found some strange stuff, like live parasites (worms) crawling through the flesh, damaged and discolored organs.
I have a buddy who is a professional butcher, he does a lot of wild game. He is also one of the smartest and most knowledgable people I know. He taught me to respect the process and not get lazy about handling wild game. He advised me around Fox and Yotes it is better to wear a dust mask, some parasite eggs go airborne from dried feces stuck to the fur.
I'm sure things can happen, NOT doubting you.
but at same time, there are SO many things out there, from Lyme from ticks, to deadly disease's from Mosquito's, after all mosquito's have killed more people than anything else out there .
yet there still almost every where!
life is a gamble I guess, and we all pick and choose what risks were OK with and what were not!
I live in a very wildlife rich area, I have wild animals in my yard off and on all day long, from big to small one's
and its been this way all my life, as it is with all my neighbors here, and to date NO one had gotten sick from critters that we KNOW of !
I do know a few folks that got Lyme disease , but all got it from other states/countries that they were in, and not locally/
about 15 yrs ago, I did have a fox(forgot about this one) that was chasing my father(in a wheel chair) around his drive way, biting at his ankles, and chasing the neighborhood kids on bikes.
called the local game warden, and he SAID he would come and check it out, after 5 calls to him and 6 hours going by, I just shot it myself!, then waited for him to come get the thing and have it tested, but he never showed up and calls to the game dept, told ,me to just throw it in the trash to get rid of it!
I double bagged it, and tossed it in trash, but IMO< I think it had Rabies, as was foamy at the mouth and acting off character for the animal!
and this is the ONLY issue I ever had in all my yrs here with so many about often.
I have worked as a butcher too over the yrs, and fully agree, precautions should be taken by all, more than most think they should too!
Ticks around anymore, worry me more than foxes, as for decades, we never had ticks here, and now there every where!
warmer winters, and just warmer all yr, seems to help them breed!
I see bears here with there ears loaded with em all the time, and feel bad for them !, as I imagine there not just on there ears, but that is only place I can see them!
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as a fact, bears here in PA and many other places have been having out breaks of Mange, and its deadly for them,
been lucky , never had any here, but mother nature can sure be a mean gal!