How To Feild Dress Wallaby & Kangaroo

So it seems to me (with my limited hunting and butchering knowledge) that just about all game animals (and maybe most farm animals?) contain parasite worms in their intestines. We are talking grass eating animals, like deer, pig, cattle etc.

A big concern (Again in my limited knowledge of this topic) is the potential transmission of Toxoplasma Gondii microscopic parasite from animal to human.

This parasite is alleged to cause a lot of problems – shortened lifespan, blindness, brain damage and damage to unborn baby. It is known to be in some 11% of the USA human population, allegedly primarily contracted from contact with cat feces. However, it turns out any warm blooded animal can contract this parasite, including deer, chickens etc etc etc AND humans.

According to my reading to the CDC website page on this subject, cooking meat (through to a core temperature) to a temperature of at least 71 degrees celcius will kill Toxoplasma Gondii. I wonder if deep freezing meat would achieve the same result, eggs and all, because theres the parasite and I believe most parasites lay eggs. Apparently the eggs of the parasite can be found in the brain the meat and elsewhere and if the immune system is low, (like in old age) the eggs can activate and burst forth many new parasites and harm the infected individual. Apparently there is no cure for this parasite.

So its not just cat feces that can transmit this parasite, but the meat of warm blooded animals. Particularly if the meat is contaminated with the spilled contents of the infected animal’s intestine system during butchering.

Farms and abbatoirs probably have science based and experience tested methods of meat production that are tried and true and likely to produce a meat product safe for consumption (in the context of parasites). However game meat obtained by hunting, may have variable butchering ability and care and quality control. For example apparently kangaroos have more than 10 types of parasite that regularly are found in their digestive system and that usually do not cause sickness to the animal. Are parasites in the digestive system of wild animals ‘normal’? Should you not eat an animal if you find parasites in its intestines?

I know from the book on Aboriginals by Burnumburnum, that Australian aboriginals in their natural nomadic tribal lifestyle suffered blindness and other health failures due to parasites and I believe that their life span was short, who knows what it was but I wager a guess at an average lifespan of 35 years.

Aboriginals will ‘process’ a kangaroo by throwing it (whole) on a camp fire. And then eating it some time later. Kangaroo is described as the top best royal food of Australian aboriginals, ie there best possible food option. But these people would eat lizards, snakes and grubs every day.

So in conclusion, I say if you have to eat game meat (meat thats not from the butcher or supermarket) then I say deep freeze it for 48 hours at least, cook it well, ie boil thin slices of meat for a long time and when butchering it, make sure the intestine doesnt get broken and contaminate the meat and if this is unavoidable due to the location of the bullet/arrow/bolt/projectile wound, then wash off the meat with water (do this any way) and an Australian website mentioned one should use acetic acid on the carcass during butchering to kind of disinfect it.

Further, take kangaroo meat: It is a game meat and there is a tendency apparently, of chefs to cook kangaroo rare, apparently because it gets tough if cooked for a long time. But I say one should resist the temptation to cook it rare, since this will introduce increased risk of infection. Better to cook this meat well done, every time.

It grosses me out to think that I might have to eat meat from an animal infected with parasites. I dont fully know what to make of this subject. But I intend to gain this knowledge, as it is a primary industry knowledge that will be very valuable to have, as the near future of the World is rapidly deteriorating into more and more uncertain times.