I'm going to try some quail hunting this weekend and I was wondering if the rabbits are ok to eat this time of year? I have heard that you should wait till after the first frost to eat them, due to the parasites they carry during the summer. Is there any validity to this?

I hear that you will need to wear gloves (surgical) if you clean them. My old Indian granny said you need to hunt them in months ending in "R" but i am not sure how that works. I do know that i have killed cotton tails in October and they still had worms in them.

I bet rabbit slayer can answer this question better than i.

Taken from AZ Wildlife Views: http://www.azgfd.gov/i_e/pubs/CottontailHunting.shtml


The cottontail season in Arizona is year-round. However, few cottontails are taken during the summer months due to hunter concerns regarding disease and parasites. Many myths exist among hunters (especially hunters from back East) concerning the “edibility” of summer rabbits. Cottontails (and the larger jackrabbits) are host to internal and external parasites (all year long, by the way). Hunters who improperly handle sick rabbits can be exposed to tularemia and the plague. This causes many hunters to look to other species as potential prey, particularly during the warmer months.

Since cottontails are abundant and very tasty, I don’t let these concerns stop me from hunting summer rabbits. My strategy is this: Wear rubber gloves when dressing the beast; let the rabbit cool (to help reduce external parasites) before carrying it on your person; wash your hands following handling and cleaning; and cook the rabbit thoroughly. You can also skin and dress the cottontail immediately during the hunt, reducing the chance an external parasite will switch hosts.

If you hunt rabbits below 3,500 feet in elevation during any portion of the year, you’ll greatly reduce your potential exposure to both plague and tularemia. Never harvest or handle a cottontail that appears to be ill.

What he said....

AZ game and fish recommends eating summer killed rabbits... Just use gloves at all stages of preparing rabbit meat... I use latex...

I have eaten summer killed, winter killed, fall killed, and spring killed rabbits... Never had any problems... I have yet to encounter worms or a spotted liver... If I do encounter one, I will dispose of it.... Oh, and if I ever get sick, I will let you all know...

I know that I've had rabbits (cottontails) out here that were full of bot worms a couple of years ago, think I harvested them in the spring or early summer. Due to the bot worms I didn't eat them but donated them to my nieghbor and her Raptor Rescue group.

That is good information.

BTW...Rabbit Slayer. It is hard to take your response seriously when I am looking at the picture of you in your avatar.

If you eat as many rabbit's as Brian does you will start to look like his avatar.LOL