Yeah, a few cases of leprosy in Louisiana in the way-back-when. WW II era and earlier.
I went to a wild game BBQ long ago. Everything was delicious especially the small pieces of pigs they had. I commented on how good they were to another guy. "Pigs?", he says, "Them ain't pigs, they're Hoover hogs."
Hoover hog was the local term for armadillo because folks had to revert to eating them during the Depression ... along with everything else they could.
"DALLAS (Reuters) - An East Texas man was wounded after he fired a gun at an armadillo in his yard and the bullet ricocheted back to hit him in his face, the county sheriff said on Friday...
Yeah, a few cases of leprosy in Louisiana in the way-back-when. WW II era and earlier.
Wow, them's some weak loads I'm thinkin'. I'll have to reevaluate my daily carry I suppose, but really, I'm not worried about defense against armadillos.
Funny thing, I've perforated many dillos with a .22. Hmmmm, maybe I'll start carrying my Ruger SR22 and put the .38 snubby and its 158 grain +Ps back in the safe.
In order of likelihood:
1) Man drunk, "armadillo" was actually a round rock
2) Man drunk, missed armadillo & hit a rock
3) Man not drunk, bullet passes through dillo, hits rock (have fun with the parasites & leprosy), wounded armadillo escapes
4) Wife drunk, fires rounds at man in anger, man lies to protect her (though it sounds like she's doing most of the talking seeing as his jaw's wired shut)
5) Man tried to commit suicide or was playing with gun idly (just as miraculous he wasn't killed as the ricochet story)
6) Armadillo falls into Ninja Turtle ooze, grows metallic carapace, startles man whilst fighting a trailer park Shredder high on meth (man heard the ruckus & went to investigate)
TCB
Two cases linked to 'dillo in Florida over the last five months Ref: Smithonian mag onlineYeah, a few cases of leprosy in Louisiana in the way-back-when. WW II era and earlier.
They don't elaborate on that. They cited three altogether in east Florida, of which one was not 'dillo connected.Recent cases? Wow. Did the Smithsonian article say how the contraction occurred? Handling? Eating?
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-...from-an-armadillo-thats-an-unlikely-pecadillo
Looks like there's more to the story. In summary, don't go to third world countries, don't touch or eat armadillos, and if you can follow these two simple rules you stand no more chance of getting leprosy than you do of getting HIV from a bus stop bench.
One thing I will say. The ticks in your yard pose a much greater threat to you than a whole family of dillos living in your garden. In the grand scheme of things, armadillos pose a threat somewhere between internal human combustion and drinking milk one day past its expiration.
Ahh NPR, that unbiased news source with no agenda...
Ok. You like them and have determined they pose no threat to you and yours. Cool.
No armadillos have thus far penetrated northern Colorado, so not a problem for me. Cool.
But, for those who live where these southern invaders have thus far penetrated and who have small children, I would support the "no risk of leprosy" decision of others to eradicate them from their environs. Tis a far better thing that many healthy armadillos shall be slain than that one little kid get leprosy. Admittedly, too long for a bumper sticker, but rather poignant nonetheless.
I don't think you even read the article. I'm no fan of NPR, but I don't think giving little kids leprosy is on their agenda. If you're killing armadillos you're doing it just to have an excuse to kill something, and in the process increasing your already non existent risk of contracting the disease, not to mention the apparent risk of ricochet. In any case, shooting them is counterproductive.
If you had read the article then you would have read the part about all the people having had direct contact with an armadillo. So don't touch the armadillo and your risk is zero, assuming you're one of the five percent of people even capable of getting leprosy in the first place.