Eating your kill.. but what about varmint?

[RoostRider]

I'm confused here too....

.....I have no concience regarding taking vermin, even for practice, and non-beneficial or damaging varmints without eating them.

I put feral hogs in this category; we had to agree to a standing kill on sight order on my lease, even if they are left for the buzzards. That said, I cannot tell with hogs yet when the piglets are weaned, so I have avoided taking sows with little ones in tow. I hope the other hunters I share this lease with don't figure out who I am with this post!

LOL.... because you have been violating the lease by letting Sows with piglets go?

Is this because you can't stand to see piglets starve? Fair enough, but then why not, assuming your logic, just shoot them too?

Or is this because you want more targets for later?

Or is there some kind of misinterpretation here?

 

[dagger dog]

JHK,

Look at them big buck teeth and tell me them ain't rodents, I kept a hutch full of New Zealand whites when I was a kid, and they could chew through a 2X4 quicker than any rat! The're just more cuddly than a rat and thats why the different classification.

 

[JWF III]

Seen a predator hunting show just in the last week or two. The guy was hunting Bobcats. As usual he skinned it out for the pelt, but later on it showed him and his wife sitting down to eat. And he said, (paraphrased) "Bobcats are also very tastey." i just don't think it's something I could do.

I had a cat for a pet, that happened to be sired (don't know if that's correct terminology for felines?) by a Bobcat. We had that cat for 16 years, and just put him down this last winter. I know I'll never shoot a Bobcat just because of him. I just don't have it in me.

Now coyotes, coy dogs, feral dogs and the like, I'll lay them out as quick as I can get the crosshairs on 'em. And leave 'em laying right where they fall. The carcass is usually gone within 2 days.

Wyman

 

[AKElroy]

Your second statement seems to contradict your first.
Are you saying you dont shoot the sows with piglets because you want to give the piglets a chance to grow up and become more of a problem?

Yep. One of the nice things about being old is allowing myself the latitude to be inconsistant. I just do not enjoy orphaning the little guys to starve. I could target the little ones first, but I just flat do not enjoy that either unless they are at least eating size.

Have you ever really watched them interact? They are very communal, engaging the little ones far more directly than deer or other animals. It's a lot like watching dogs with pups. OK, so I'm getting soft. Ditto the coon's in my backyard. I used to pop em' with regularity, until my neighbor started feeding them. Now they drape themselves, 11 of them, nose to tail, straddling the railing on my deck. I can't bring myself to pop them anymore either.

I realize I may have to leave the forum now. I will post pics soon of the next pig kill, (sans pigglets), to redeem some respect. Don't tell Flint about this.

 

[Sunray]

There are recipes available for every game animal. The word varmint covers a lot of animals. Some of which aren't varmints, everywhere. Very few of 'em carry disease. Most do not. Not any more than any game animal.
A ground hog, for example, is a big rat that lives very cleanly and eats the same thing beef cattle eat. Grass, clover, etc. Cleaning one is no more messy that cleaning a fish.
Skinning a coyote isn't any more messy or expensive than a deer either. Having the hides tanned can be expensive, but that can be done yourself. That can be smelly and messy though.

 

[larrichan]

Eat Them!

Having spent several years in the field as a wildlife ecologist, I've tasted quite a few different meats (including rodents and bats). The rule is that if in doubt on the species, cook it well to prevent any possible disease transmission. The next best thing I can tell you is that if the animal is eating vegetable matter, it will taste good. If it is eating carrion or meat, it will probably be very strong and pungent. Also, anything can be covered up in taco sauce, chili, or barbecue sauce. Interesting note, in Brownsville, Texas several years ago, one of the schools was shut down by the health department because the cafeteria workers were trapping the rats and adding them to the taco meat they were serving the kids. When they reopened the school, the students wouldn't eat the all-beef tacos because they didn't taste good! As with eating most foods, an individual's psychological attitude towards the food from years of eating habits has more to do with the perception of what is edible than what in reality is edible.

 

[Sunray]

"...if the animal is eating vegetable matter, it will taste good..." Depends on the veggies. Mind you, I've heard from very unreliable sources, that non-carrion meat eaters have tasty, tender meat.
"...anything can be covered up..." Nope. Tainted meat is still tainted. The old wive's tale that Medieval food was heavily spiced to cover the taste of tainted meat isn't true. A plastic salt shaker with an assortment of ground herbs and spices can make an MRE taste like real food though.

 

[Fremmer]

Lots of gravy! Lots and lots of gravy!