I shot a sick elk. Recommendations?
 

Well I have been bow elk hunting in Colorado for 7 years and I finally shot my first one. I am a little slow, but very proud of my elk. I shot a calf, remember it is my first. The problem comes up when I am field dressing it. It had a bad infection in it's rear knee. It was swolen up and had a hole the size of a dime. When I touched it, cottage cheese came out. It had some cuts around it that looked like a barbed wire fence. I figured I could cut out the bad meat and continue. When I was gutting it, I found a large tumor (cyst) in the chest cavity. It was the size of a soft ball. It was attached to the inside of the rib cage but not the lungs. I had to cut it off the ribs. Itlooked like a small stomach. I cut it open to see what it was and a white gravy with nickle size chunks of white cheese came out. It smelled like vomit. Sorry for being so graphic and the food references, I wanted you to know what I saw. I left the guts and tumor in the woods. I thought about it on the way out and decided to ask the DOW about it. I will tell you what they said later. What do you think? What would you do? What should I do with the meat?

RE: I shot a sick elk. Recommendations?
 

If you would have showed the DOW officer he prodaly could have refunded your tag.As for the meat if the infection wasn't near any of the meat it's probaly ok.As for the tumor that could be caused by many things,was the animal gaunt or sickly looking,skinny,sunken hips so on??
BBJ

RE: I shot a sick elk. Recommendations?
 

Sounds like a DOW question to me. Of course, I'm sure they will want to see everything before you could be issued a new tag.Until the DOW gives you an answer, I would process the meat as normal in hopes that it would be OK. However,I would not want to risk my (nor my families) health by eating meat that was infected. Thus, without an answer from the DOW I would not consume the meat.

RE: I shot a sick elk. Recommendations?
 

I gotta say that I probably wouldn't want to take a chance as I believeit may be possible for the infection to spread thru the blood--that's what concerns me is the infected knee. The tumor (if it was contained) in my mind, doesn't pose as much of a threat. Bad luck on that deal.

RE: I shot a sick elk. Recommendations?
 

If it were me, I'd leave the meat for the animals.

RE: I shot a sick elk. Recommendations?
 

The animal had a small limp on the injured leg. I figured it wasn't bad. When I initally jumped the elk, she ran a short distance, stopped, and then coughed once or twice. I thought this was weird, but didn't think much of it. I have had lots of farm animals that cough every once in a while. She didn't seem thin. All the internal organs, except the tumor, looked healthy. The cyst was completely contained until I tried to remove it from the ribs. It broke open and spilled some fluid on the tenderloins. I washed it as soon as possible. I also disposed of the ribs.

The DOW offered me a new tag for this season, but I am an out of stater and had to leave the next morning for work. I decided to keep it and ask around for help.

RE: I shot a sick elk. Recommendations?
 

Forget about it! Call CDOW and talk to them before you eat any meet from your elk.

RE: I shot a sick elk. Recommendations?
 

Very Sorry to say, but I aint eating it.

Maybe they will give you another tag. I have heard of others getting that treatment here in PA.

RE: I shot a sick elk. Recommendations?
 

When you kill a bad one, call the DOW immediately and reapoprt it and they willprobably give you another tag( I think). They are the most reasonable people I have ever dealt with.

RE: I shot a sick elk. Recommendations?
 

Few years back Ishot Speed Goat in Eastern Montana with aGang Green like leg and had all kinds of nasty stuff going on in the cavity.
Called MontanaFWP and they said they would issue me a new tag. However I was many miles away from their office and would have lost to much of my hunting time by driving there and back.
It was a block management property and the farmer and FWP official agreed that indeed it was bad and they burned it behind the barn.
Most of these people are pretty reasonable about tag replacement for inedible or sick animals.