Have you had any cases of cwd in your area. You always hear the tales about tainted meat. You have to be careful while gutting them so you dont hurt the meat but gut shot deer are ok. Its all crap. Remove any infected meat and feed the hungry. I really admire that you do that. When we wound a deer the wounded area fills up with white blood cells that try to heal the area. Also any nutrients they consum go right to the area to help heal it. Either way do what you are comfortable with and i am happy that you did what was right for the deer either way.
if it were me i would eat it. i would cut off the affected area and some. as for the comment about a three legged deer being able to eat normal and be normal size..... a three legged deer has probably already healed its wound and has no infection or weakness. the deer with an infected wound, has a weakness. when the deer is infected, trying to heal, and has a limp leg to drag he is undergoing much more stress and discomfort. thus he would not be as apt to walk around and eat like a deer with a healed over missing leg. also to my knowledge just about any bacteria like e coli, salmonella, etc will be killed off with normal cooking practices.
Good job on another deer, having a heck of a season Tony. Personally I'd cut off the meat around the old wound and give it to the dogs, but the rest of the shoulder should be ok.
Tony, I wouldn't touch that deer. If it had a nasty stinky infected leg, it likely had a systemic bacteremia (bacteria in the blood), and ALL of it's meat would be affected. Wound that are substantial enough to cause a deer or any animal to lose weight, and have a foul odor generally are systemic in nature, and you don't want to be the responsible party for getting people sick. Throw that deer out so you don't make anyone sick!!!
If the lower, infected part of the leg was hanging only by a thread of skin, then there is no way that the blood is infected. I shot a buck in 2005 that had the same type of wound. Meat was fine. Also, could just be a thin 1.5 year old buck. If you thought it was a healthy full grown doe that sounds like a good description of the average 1.5 year old buck body. Deer have an amazing ability to deal with infection far better than humans. Their bodies seal off an infected area very quickly and completely and they rarely get infections that spread to the bones or blood stream throughout the body. Their bodies will even shed limbs and the deer will survive just fine. I have seen that happen twice in the last 5 years on my farm. One was a fawn doe who's rear leg was infected, swelled up, lost its hair, turned black, then fell off. I saw her for the next 2 years doing fine. Another is a buck that is hanging around right now whose left rear foot rotted off and he is all healed up and fine. Whatever you decide, and it seems like you will throw it away, at least throw it in the woods so something will gain from it.
I have to believe that the meat is ok .... the only stink part was below and immediately above the wound ... no smell when I gutted him ... no smell after I removed that shoulder where the leg wound was ... I think the rest of the meat is fine ... he will all be made into ground ....
I dont eat sick animals, not worth the risk and what ever it had that was infecting it cant do your immune system any good. I would bury it or burn it. You have done your part by putting out of it's misery and i praise you for it. good job.
Sorry, I had to run, meant to expand.... Tony, The reason the deer was so thin is because he was probably SEPTIC, which means he has a systemic infection. People oftentimes assume Gangrene, but the infection would have more likely been a Strepto or Staphylo type infection. A thin deer equals a SICK deer, and if the deer is losing weight, then his WHOLE body is sick, not just one leg. I've seen 3 legged deer that looked good and healthy, and I've seen deer with flesh wounds that looked very ill. The likelihood of this deer you shot having a systemic infection is VERY high as he has lost weight, shed his antlers, and had a wound that was SMELLY!!! If the wound is smelly, then it's still getting blood flow, which means likewise that infections from that area is getting transported through out the body. A wet wound is an infected wound, and generally is a sign that the animal is very ill. A dry wound, without smell, I'd be less concerned, but a wet wound would equal a mercy killing, and no meat, a dry wound would equal me eating venison.
Do as you wish Tony, I'll await the "Maybe I shouldn't have eaten that afterall" thread. Anything that STINKS usually is infected, and with the weight loss, if it didn't look healthy, then that's an IFFY situation I'd steer clear of!!!
Congrats PT (again) :D Great season man! Can't say for sure what I would do without seeing it in person....but honestly, I always play it better safe than sorry. Around here with the population we have and the amount of tags....I can say I probably wouldn't take the chance.
I do not know enough on this topic to comment either way... All I have to say is if it is tainted meat, do you want to be responsible for the folks at the mission consuming it (tainted meat)?
Than butcher it and test it out yourself before taking it to the mission. Don't make them "guinea pigs". With these folks eating dinner at the mission I am sure they have enough problems already without potential food poisoning. If you are not willing to consume the meat with your family, than I do not feel it should be giving away to others either. (I am not saying what I think you would or wouldn't do, only expressing my opinion on the situation)
