Rabbit safety

Hey boys,

Just got back hunting rabbits with my 8 year old. We shot about 15 today and I field dressed each one on the spot with disposable gloves. It's been pretty cold the last few weeks (below freezing) and hit the negatives a few days ago- so it's been plenty cold and there were few fleas. I've always been taught to inspect the liver for spots- so now I have some questions/concerns. Of the 15 rabbits we shot, only 3 had no spots. So, the other 12 had a spot or spots of some sort on the liver. Some had ONLY one spot. The question is, how do I tell if it is tularemia, coccidiosis, or something else? I feel bad throwing away 12 rabbits- it was heart-breaking. But, with young children in the picture, I'm taking no chances without becoming more educated on this. Even after examining some pictures and articles on the internet, I'm not any closer.

Do any of you have any experience with this? It's funny, because I grew up eating rabbit, and have eaten a few every year, and have not noticed the spots like I have this year. Colorado did have an outbreak of tularemia, but I figured most of the sick ones have died already. I don't know???

Everything that I've ever read about tularemia has said that cooking the meat to at least 160 degrees kills the bacteria that causes tularemia. If the rabbit was behaving oddly or was sluggish I wouldn't eat it, but it sounds like yours should have been fine if cooked thoroughly.

Coccidiosis is the most likely cause of the liver spots. It's common in wild rabbits. The parasite is restricted to the hepatic and sometimes intestinal systems - either way the meat should be fine to consume though I would not eat the livers. It is possible there could be tularemia present, but not really likely at this time of year. If thoroughly cooked (170 degrees internal temp) you should be fine on both counts.

Thank you! We ate the ones we kept- deboned them, pounded them out, stuffed them with a plum jam, and wrapped them with bacon. I love rabbit, it was just concerning with the spots. Would tularemia have a specific color or pattern of spots?

Typically it would look like many small (1-2 mm) distinct white to off-white spots throughout the organ. The liver might look enlarged and off color as well. The hard part though is that lots of things cause weird liver lesions in wild animals so without having it tested it can be hard to know what exactly you have.

Another thing to pay attention to though would be behavior. Infected rabbits usually seem slow, kind of dumb, just don't act right and might be kind of uncoordinated. If you shoot one that doesnt really act right, I probably wouldn't keep it.

Just wondering if my local cottontails are just being NM rabbits. Lazy.
I have so many around my house it's time for war or a freezer filler.
I can walk right up to & past them. They just move around me most times.

I stopped eating bunny years ago when they got wormy & diseased in CA where I lived.
What should I watch for in rabbits in SW NM?