Predator Meat

[Johnm1]

I didn't want to hijack the thread titled first bobcat, so I started my own thread.

I'm in the camp of not eating Predator meat. Bobcat, coyote, and mountain lion. I'm not sure why, but that how I have always felt. That might change if I were a subsistence hunter in Alaska. But my question is, is a hunter required to preserve the meat or be guilty of wanton waste? Legally, ethically?

Assume this could differ from state to state and possibly buy species. I'd be interested to hear what the rules are in your state. I will try to research rules in Arizona. I am told by other hunters that coyotes can be left where they fall. But I have not read that in the regulations.

 

[<*(((><]

In Nevada it once was maybe still is that they would recognize an Idaho hunting license to kill coyotes as long as the Idaho hunter left the coyotes where they lay.

 

[Dibbs]

AFAIK, there are no laws which address this issue. (at least, around here) Bear in mind, woods critters gotta eat, too. Many folks are of the "I don't eat dog"(or cat) persuasion, but animals all taste a little different. I prefer rabbit, and am trying to foster their habitat, with pollination and brush-piles. If you try the meat, and like it,
set aside room in your freezer, and process the animal.

As to "where they fall", we generally take carcasses to specific spots, just so the area isn't littered with carcasses and remains.

 

[Highland Lofts]

I know a few oeople wjo hunt the hell out of crows. The generally sit by fields just inside the woodline. Sometimes they will shoot close to 40 maybe 50 crows a day
They just leave them where they fall and by the next morning they are all gone. I would think the coyotes are having a feast.
When we shoot deer back in Upstate New York we ser trail cams on the gut piles and afyer butchering the deer we take the bones, fat & bloodshot meat, head and feet back in the woods to leave for the animals to feed off.
Previous years the gut & bone pile would last three or four days.
This year they were almost cleaned up on the first day except the deers sromach, the next day that was cleaned up.
We had coyotes, fox, raccoons, one fisher and lots of crows eating on the gut piles.
Ocasionally deer would go to the gut pile and check ot out.

I do personally know people who eat cougars and coyotes. They claim cougar meet it some of the best meat out there.

I pass on it when offered any, i'm with most other people, no cats or dogs in my menue.

I have ate raccoon, and bear meat and would again.

 

[Patocazador]

I have asked permission to shoot crows on people's land and never have been refused. Several times the landowner has asked for the crows to eat. I have never eaten any but they may be good. Remember the nursery rhyme "Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie"? Perhaps I have been missing out on quite a treat.

I have killed 2 bears. One was young and extremely tender but had no flavor. The other was as old as the hills and nobody could have eaten it unless they had bionic teeth.

I have never seen a cougar in the wild much less eaten one but would probably try it if given the chance. Coyotes? NO WAY!!!!!

 

[Obturation]

I'll eat anything that tastes good as long as it's safe to eat. Never ate wolf or coyote , bobcat or cougar. But if the cook knew how to prepare it I would give it a try. I'm a carnivore though, if it has a face it probably tastes ok. Only exceptions I can think of off hand are skunk & Amarillo (not predators obviously)- I don't want any of that and I don't think anyone else does either. Snakes are predators and taste good , alligators too. Pretty much everything that lives in the water is a predator and most are good. I've heard bear is very good if prepared correctly. Dogs & cats are the hang up for most folks but I wouldn't have a problem ethically eating such critters.

 

[Rembrandt]

Not eating predators, scavengers, or carrion goes back thousands of years to the dietary commandments God gave the Hebrews in the Old Testament book of Leviticus. Today we know those animals and birds can transmit parasites, bacteria, and diseases because of what they consumed. This is why Hebrews were not to eat unclean animals basically for dietary health, but also to distinguish them from pagans who would eat them. Plagues and other diseases were a transmitted by rats and insects as well as birds that ate carcasses.

I suppose with proper cooking and testing you could probably eat about anything (with enough Ketchup on it).

 

[Highland Lofts]

This is an interesting thread for sure.

 

[AZAndy]

I used to think I had an issue with eating carnivores, and then I remembered that I really like tuna. Shark, too, come to think of it.

 

[Highland Lofts]

On one of the forums out here in Washington State some one hit a deer or an elk that laid on the shoulder of the road and was starting to stink so he dragged it down in the woods some distance. A cougar happened upon it and ate it's fair share of that tainted meat.
There was a dusting of show so he went home and grabbed a rifle then followed the cougars tracks. With in a mile or so he wrote that the cougar puked about six times.

I know a guy that lives up in Mount Vernon WA. that was keeping an eye on a decent size property for the out of state owner. 675 acres and he had exclusive hunting rights on the property. While deer hunting on the property he stumbled upon a set of cougar tracks so he went to a couple of large dairy farms and picked up dead calves and placed them out where the cougar was working the property.
The first week the coyotes were eating on the dead calves and he shot almost a dozen of them. When the calves were about cleaned up.he put another one out there.
Finely the cougar started to feed upon the calves. It took another three calves and he shot the cougar, a male cat about five years old that had a broken leg at a one time.
He took it to the taxidemist and they skined it out and kept the meat.

Cougar, bobcat, coyotes & wolves are right up there with snails. I'll pass on all of the above.

 

[Patocazador]

Cougar, bobcat, coyotes & wolves are right up there with snails. I'll pass on all of the above.

I had snails (escargot) on a Caribbean cruise. They were quite tasty.

 

[Johnm1]

Escargot is an excuse/medium to eat melted garlic butter. I like it but I'm not sure I'd like snails without the garlic butter. The trick is to eat them very hot. Almost boiling.

 

[wankerjake]

Yeah Andy, fish get a pass as do crabs and lobsters and stuff. Bears are omnivores, but that’s cool.

Just like with bears, meat from a carnivore should be cooked thoroughly and for the same reasons


Mountain lion meat is probably better than deer, it’s a shame so many get wasted. Lions are classified as big game in AZ so I’m sure legally you have to take the meat, but dumping a lion carcass is easy to get away with. Plenty get wasted. The argument is always the same, “not gonna eat a cat.”

In truth I was surprised how good cat meat is. The stigma is strong. I didn’t know what I was afraid of either, except “eating cat.”

I’m telling you, it’s fantastic.


Everyone I’ve fed it to is always amazed. We had friends over for taco night awhile back. I was recently gifted a lion because “I’m not sure about eating a cat.” Well he and his wife and our neighbors came over and we made tacos and the meat selection was lion, elk, shrimp and bacon for make-your-own-tacos. Guess which one meat was most popular?

 

[entropy]

I will not eat coyote. BTDT, did not like the taste or the resultant effects.

 

[Highland Lofts]

Back in the late 70s early 80s i had two bluetick coon dogs so I had a constent supply of coon meat and gave a lot of it away. I have tried it prepared several several ways and liked it.

I use to trap muskrats and mink along the Tiooughnioga River in Whitney Point/Itaska area and the Susquahanna River from Binghamton to Kirkwood.
I would case skin the muskrats out and boil them up to feed to the dogs. They actually smelled good, but I never tried them.
I hear people in the south east eat them and they probably taste good. Just like grinners, I know a couple of people who eat them and like it.

Some of the things we concider normal food fare some people find it disgusting.
I raise white racing homer pigeons for doing White Dove Releases and will raise a bunch of pigeons that will have either black, gray or brown feathers which I can not use for doing my releases so they go in the freezer. I also give some away to friends who like them as well.
I also have four doe rabbits that I breed for table fare. I will be having two of the does bred here in a couple of weeks and the other two will get bred couple of months after the first two.

After these get bred I will get rid of my New Zealand/Rex cross buck and get a New Zealand/Flemish Giant buck to breed my does next time around.
It's a cheap little hobby and some great eating.
I like them quartered up and baked in the oven with the Chicken Shake n Bake.

 

[whughett]

Pig Meat. Pigs will eat any thing they find. Like Bears and Humans they are omnivores. I’ve had bear, raccoon, opossum, beaver, groundhog and rabbit. Tree rats were a farm favorite.

 

[PecosRiverM]

Dog meat isn't bad.
If you don't know what it is until after you've eaten it.

 

[bikerdoc]

Ate Dog on my southeast Asia senior field trip. Didn't like it. Also has monkey, another hard pass.
Cat meat is just OK, my favorite is squirrel.

 

[jmorris]

But my question is, is a hunter required to preserve the meat or be guilty of wanton waste? Legally, ethically?

I don’t kill all animals in any category, carnivore, herbivore or omnivore but I have killed nuisance animals in all three categories.

Unethical, when’s the last time someone asked you for a recipe for rat or cockroach?

 

[somethingbenign]

Most places I'm aware of coyote is considered a varmit or pest and there is no legal obligation to do anything with the remains. At to what meat I'd try? I think human is the only thing I'm unwilling to at least try after given assurances it is safe. Maybe after more adventurous eating I'll have a list of NOPES but for now I'm still curious what dog and cat taste like. Found a spot with beaver today so if my trapping buddy snags one I'll try and get the meat from that.

 

[Johnm1]

As Highland Lofts indicated, this has turned into an interesting topic. I'm interested in all remaining comments. I'm glad to hear that many eat lion and it has piqued my interest into trying some. I'd assume those that eat lion would also eat bobcat. Both are true carnivores and although the diet is different it is all meat. Comment?

I'm still interested to see what the laws are around the country as far as Mountain Lion, Bobcat, and Coyote are. Here is what I found for the laws/regulations in Arizona. My comments are in RED:

A.R.S. 17-309
Violations; classification
A. Unless otherwise prescribed by this title, it is unlawful for a person to:
5. Take a game bird, game mammal or game fish and knowingly permit an edible portion thereof to go to waste, except as provided in section 17-302

17-302. Taking of bear or mountain lion for protection of property; report (so 17-302 doesn't impact this discussion)

Under Definitions
Big Game: Any of the following species: mule deer, white-tailed deer, pronghorn antelope, elk, turkey, javelina, bear, bighorn sheep, bison and mountain lion. (So mountain lion is "Big Game" and 17-309 requires the meat to not be wasted)

Bobcat and Coyote fall under the heading of Predatory & Fur-bearing Mammals. But a search of the regulations doesn't find the same restriction regarding preserving the meat for Predatory or Fur-bearing Mammals. So, if you assume, I know bad thing to do, that what isn't prohibited is allowed, it looks like Bobcat and Coyote meat does not have to be preserved.

A.R.S. 17-101
Definitions
6. Fur-bearing animals are muskrats, raccoons, otters, weasels, bobcats, beavers, badgers and ringtail cats.
7. Predatory animals are foxes, skunks, coyotes and bobcats.
8. Nongame animals are all wildlife except game mammals, game birds, fur-bearing animals, predatory animals and aquatic wildlife.


Lets handle the ethical portion of this last.

 

[Johnm1]

I don’t kill all animals in any category, carnivore, herbivore or omnivore but I have killed nuisance animals in all three categories.

Unethical, when’s the last time someone asked you for a recipe for rat or cockroach?

I see your point Mr. Morris. But Rat and Cockroach are found in our living areas (home/farms) and are a true pest that are found in large numbers in urban areas due to our impact o the environment. To me, those are issues we as humans created. And I assume, correct me if I'm wrong, that the Rats/Cockroaches you are referencing are urban and not types of rats that are found away from humans. I suspect there is some, non-urban place on this earth that has a recipe for both.

 

[Patocazador]

Found a spot with beaver today so if my trapping buddy snags one I'll try and get the meat from that.

Beaver is good. It's a little darker meat than deer but tastes similar.

 

[Patocazador]

And I assume, correct me if I'm wrong, that the Rats/Cockroaches you are referencing are urban and not types of rats that are found away from humans. I suspect there is some, non-urban place on this earth that has a recipe for both.

If you've eaten squirrel, you've eaten rat with a furry tail. Local names for squirrels include "tree rats".

 

[Johnm1]

If you've eaten squirrel, you've eaten rat with a furry tail. Local names for squirrels include "tree rats".

Good point. They are all rodents.