NZ Hunter – August 2019

The other day Gazza and I were discussing

a diseased lamb carcass I’d found during the

course of my work as a meat inspector

Gazza is a keen hunter and he asked me to explain the disease and its

effect on the animal. As I gave him a rundown on it, we started talking

about posts we had recently seen on internet forums where hunters had

shot something unusual and were asking others if they thought it was safe

to eat.

Gazza then suggested I should write an

article about diseases and defects that

hunters may come across in the field and

if I did, he would definitely read it. So here

it is Gazza, a basic rundown on what we

talked about.

I’ve been a meat inspector for 23

years now and during that time

I’ve inspected millions of animals

and seen some pretty weird and

wonderful things. These range from

6-legged animals, cancer-ridden animals,

animals with 22 projectiles embedded in

them, animals with broken necks, with

gangrene and everything in between.

I’m constantly amazed at some of the

conditions I come across and at times I

can’t believe the extent of the disease or

the damage the animal has sustained. At

antemortem inspection (live) it appears

to be fine but at postmortem inspection

(dead) it’s a wonder the animal had been

able to breathe, let alone stand.

This series of articles is set out for the

average Kiwi hunter so I won’t go too

deeply into things, just enough to help

you decide whether an animal you’ve

killed is safe to eat or not. I won’t cover

things like fly strike/maggots, meat

spoilage or butchery as others talk

about these in their articles – I will

focus instead on defects, diseases and

conditions and maybe touch on zoonotic

diseases that can infect humans and how

to avoid them.

Before we start on what isn’t right,

we’d better cover how things look

when they’re normal. We can refer

back to this as we go on. Also I thought

it would be helpful to understand

diseases and conditions if we have a

basic knowledge of what the various

organs do and how they function. You

may think this is a waste of time but bear

with me as one issue can often flow into

another and if we understand a little of an

animal’s anatomy, we can determine how

things happen and if the meat is safe to

consume.

There are three

classes of animals:

1. Herbivores – eat grass/foliage ie
   deer, sheep and cattle


2. Omnivores – eat both foliage and
   meat ie people and pigs


3. Carnivores – eat meat ie dogs
   and cats.
   These three classes of animals have
   stomach designs that vary in order
   to process the different types of food
   described above.

Is it Safe

to eat? Part I

WRITTEN BY ~ COREY CARSTON

72 NZ HUNTER MAGAZINE ~ August / September 2019

How

To

Theother day GazzaandI were discussing

a diseasedlamb carcass I’dfound duringthe

courseof my work as a meat inspector

Gazzaisa keenhunterandheaskedmetoexplainthediseaseandits

effectontheanimal.AsI gavehima rundownonit,westartedtalking

aboutpostswehadrecentlyseenoninternetforumswherehuntershad

shotsomethingunusualandwereaskingothersif theythoughtit wassafe

toeat.

GazzathensuggestedI shouldwritean

articleaboutdiseasesanddefectsthat

huntersmaycomeacrossinthefieldand

if I did,hewoulddefinitelyreadit.Sohere

it is Gazza,a basicrundownonwhatwe

talkedabout.

I’vebeena meatinspectorfor 23

yearsnowandduringthattime

I’veinspectedmillionsofanimals

andseensomeprettyweirdand

wonderfulthings.Theserangefrom

6-leggedanimals,cancer-riddenanimals,

animalswith 22 projectilesembeddedin

them,animalswithbrokennecks,with

gangreneandeverythinginbetween.

I’mconstantlyamazedatsomeofthe

conditionsI comeacrossandattimesI

can’tbelievetheextentofthediseaseor

thedamagetheanimalhassustained.At

antemorteminspection(live)it appears

tobefinebutatpostmorteminspection

(dead)it’sa wondertheanimalhadbeen

abletobreathe,letalonestand.

Thisseriesofarticlesis setoutforthe

averageKiwihuntersoI won’tgotoo

deeplyintothings,justenoughtohelp

youdecidewhetherananimalyou’ve

killedis safetoeatornot.I won’tcover

thingslikeflystrike/maggots,meat

spoilageorbutcheryasotherstalk

abouttheseintheirarticles–I will

focusinsteadondefects,diseasesand

conditionsandmaybetouchonzoonotic

diseasesthatcaninfecthumansandhow

toavoid them.

Before we start on what isn’t right,

we’d better cover how things look

when they’re normal. We can refer

back to this as we go on. Also I thought

it would be helpful to understand

diseases and conditions if we have a

basic knowledge of what the various

organs do and how they function. You

may think this is a waste of time but bear

with me as one issue can often flow into

another and if we understand a little of an

animal’s anatomy, we can determine how

things happen and if the meat is safe to

consume.

There are three

classes of animals:

1.Herbivores – eat grass/foliage ie

deer, sheep and cattle

2.Omnivores – eat both foliage and

meat ie people and pigs

3. Carnivores – eat meat ie dogs
   and cats.
   These three classes of animals have
   stomach designs that vary in order
   toprocess the different types of food
   described above.

Is it Safe

to eat? Part I

WRITTEN BY ~ COREY CARSTON

72 NZ HUNTER MAGAZINE ~ August / September 2019

How

To