I actually was a vegetarian for nearly a decade …nearly a decade of my misguided youth. (No offense to any veggies, I was really just in opposition to factory farming. Then I went to work on an organic farm for a summer and learned how difficult farming really is. And the reality that not all animals are pets, and some are even downright jerks.)
Those photos dont bother me so much. Skinning an animal weirds me out a bit but after that is done it is easier to think of it just like I would any meat from the store.
It looks tasty when it’s all cooked up!
Editing after watching a video about bot worm in rabbit…oh dear Lord, that is not even close to what I was expecting!!
Thats really interesting that you were a vegetarian, and I CERTAINLY understand the opposition to factory farming.
I didn’t mean for those photos to bother you at all- just the opposite, I hoped they would show you how delicious and normal rabbits and squirrels can be when cooking with them.
What I thought might bother you, and does bother me, were the wolf “worms”. I almost want to just DARE you to google “wolf worm” and then select google “images” and look at some of the photos with squirrel and rabbit wolf worms. Then tell me if you could eat those animals, even if you were convinced that the meat was safe.
Perhaps I’m just more squimish than you, if so I applaud your courage!!!
You made me laugh out loud with that one!!! Kind of reminds me of what they say about making sausage- just enjoy it but don’t ask what is in it! haha. You also make a good point though- wolf worms are pretty rare. It sounded like you haven’t seen any in 40 years of processing critters. I’ve been eating wild things like that for about 30 years and I think I’ve only found a wolf worm 3 times- maybe just to. So I hope I didn’t give @Katie_didnt_Z4b the idea that this is a common problem, and again, it only happens during warm weather when almost no one does kill and eat small game (partly because it is out of season for hunters so only agriculture nuisance kills happen in warm weather.
Thanks again for the laugh…,…and just trust me on this, you are doing the smart thing by not looking. I did and it freaked me out all over again and I still can’t get the photos I saw on my little google search out of my mind. They are VERY,VERY close (I mean this, really) to that scene in “The alien” where the baby alien comes blasting out of that man’s stomach. They look like, live inside like that, etc. Now I’m freaked out all over again just by picturing them! haha
All I can say is you are lucky! haha. I know I’m probably making this a lot more dramatic and much bigger deal than most people would. I know hunters who just pull them off when they peel the skin back and toss them to the ground and keep cutting up the meat for eating. I need to be more mature about a little Bot Fly larvae. But we most all have some irrational fears and things that creep us out, and for whatever reason these are mine. I do and eat so many things other people say are gross, but this one thing just gets under my skin! (see what I did there? ha)
seen that bot fly larve on that show ‘‘monsters inside me’’. pretty nasty bug! the dr. was pulling several out of some poor girls scalp! i had a similar reaction and not much phases me.
The caribou here in Alaska have these sorts of parasites, usually called warble flies. My fruit trees haven’t been threatened by caribou though, just moose. I haven’t encountered these bugs in rabbits, but that’s fine.
There is (or was) a t.v. show called something like “Monsters in me” and each episode told the real-life story of someone who had some kind of parasite living within them. Everything from microscopic organisms to tape worms to Bot flys like you’ve had. Now as I’ve said, it is bad enough seeing those “wolf worm” bot flys, but I don’t even want to think about what it must have been like to have one living inside you!!! It showed some on that tv show. You could actually see them moving around under a persons skin. Worse yet, on close-up views you could even see the mouth parts of the darn thing sticking up out of the skin to breath. OMG! And apparently one treatment method is to put Vaseline over the breathing hole to smoother the hideous creatures. Problem is, when they can’t breath they do what we would do- they start thrashing around violently (under the person’s skin). Ugh! The show also showed cases where the doctor would make a little incision and pull the little monster(s) out. Once again, it was just a nightmare to watch!!!
How do they treat the ones you have had?
OK, I’m sorry to everyone for having taken up so much time and space talking about these wolf-worm/bots! Clearly I have some kind of obsession or phobia with these things. haha. Let me say again for the benefit of
Katelyn and others- in spite of me blathering on about these things, they are actually pretty rare year round,and almost non-existant in cold weather. So critter eaters relax and enjoy the meat from your gardens and land!!
@thecityman
" How do they treat the ones you have had?"
The local ( Mayan )way is to slowly blow the smoke ( with out inhaling ) of a cigarette onto a small spot of your skin, until a noticeable residue is there
( nicotine ). Scrape this up with a knife until you get a little ball of tar on the tip of a knife blade.
Put this on the hole in your skin where they breath out of. when they come up for air they get a mouth full of nicotine . And you can feel them grab you from the inside.
Wait about 10 minutes then pinch the skin under them and start to push them out. This can take 10-15 minutes, and you cannot loosen your grip under them or they will get another hold on you. A suction type snake bite kit on top will help at this point to help suck them out.
( and if you are in the tropics where there are bot flies , you should have a snake bite kit !). This process often takes two people, but I have removed several by my self. They usually only are found ( or they find you !) in undisturbed rainforest
So to stay on topic here…
I guess I was the " meat in their orchard " and they were trying to use me! ! !
Well that’s it Jolene- you and I are not friends anymore. (ha) I’d never heard of mango worms so of course I had to stroll over to youtube and check it out. Why would you do that to me knowing I already clearing have an unhealthy aversion to the wolf worms!!! hahahaha And yes, those are worse.
New rule: No more gross worm talk! (haha- yes I know, 90% of it has been me!) haha
haha. It’s all good. I’m sure you know I was kidding about the friends thing…I think I can forgive you for making me see that…at least once I’m able to sleep again in a few weeks.
Just curious, Have you lived in Africa or had you just heard about those things>
When I did a search for wolf worm it brought those creepazoids up too. If not for your topic here I would be blissfully ignorant, thinking such creatures only lived in my childhood nightmares. Lol
I knew you were joking. But I totally understand the sentiment.
for “eating the meat in our home made cheeses”, (a parallel topic), google casu marzu (it is delicious, but those worms jump and will hit you in the eye as you are about to eat a piece).
…nearly a decade of my misguided youth. (No offense to any veggies, I was really just in opposition to factory farming. Then I went to work on an organic farm for a summer and learned how difficult farming really is. And the reality that not all animals are pets, and some are even downright jerks.)
