The deer is down. Let the celebration… and the work begin. Million of deer hunters will hit the field in pursuit of their favorite big-game animal and culinary delight, yet precautions are needed from the moment the deer goes down until it adorns your grill or table. When field-dressing the animal, always use a clean knife and do your best to keep leaves and other debris from the body cavity. Cool the carcass as quickly as possible to reduce bacteria buildup.
In addition to carefully field dressing the animal, consider the possibility of chronic wasting disease. The Pennsylvania Game Commission provides these guidelines which all hunters should follow.
Wildlife officials have suggested hunters in areas where chronic wasting disease (CWD) is known to exist follow these usual recommendations to prevent the possible spread of disease:
- Do not shoot, handle or consume any animal that appears sick; contact the state wildlife agency if you see or harvest an animal that appears sick.
- Wear rubber or latex gloves when field-dressing carcasses.
- Bone out the meat from your animal.
- Minimize the handling of brain and spinal tissues.
- Wash hands and instruments thoroughly after field-dressing is completed.
- Request that your animal is processed individually, without meat from other animals being added to meat from your animal, or process your own meat if you have the tools and ability to do so.
- Have your animal processed in the area of the state where it was harvested, so that high-risk body parts can be properly disposed of there. Only bring permitted materials back to Pennsylvania.
- Don’t consume the brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils or lymph nodes of harvested animals. (Normal field-dressing, coupled with boning out a carcass, will remove most, if not all, of these body parts. Cutting away all fatty tissue will help remove remaining lymph nodes.)
- Follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and avoid eating meat from any animal that looks sick or tests positive for the disease.
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