Meat safe to eat? Slaughtered doe with unclear health issues

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anon_rabbitry

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So I have frozen in my freezer, meat from a doe that had health problems. But I'm unsure what exactly was wrong with the doe, if anything serious. Here's what I know:

The doe's vent had pimples/sores and was bright red. Red-red. She was unwilling to breed for as long as I had her.

Her breathing sounded a little wet for the first couple weeks after I got her. She drank twice as much water as any other rabbit. She was also the only rabbit whose hutch had a markedly offensive odor.

She had very buggy eyes, and eyelids that didn't look very healthy.

I got her from a colony style rabbitry. The breeder I got her from seemed to have some significant management issues with their rabbitry, and in hindsight I suspect that some of the rabbits living in the colony had untreated diseases. I'll need to be more careful about inspections next time I'm in the market for a new rabbit.

Was there anything actually wrong with my doe? If it had a disease, will it affect the safety of the meat?
 
Possibly

Freezing won't kill bacteria but I assume you plan to cook the meat ;) however, if she was suffering organ failure, especially of the kidneys and/or liver, there are likely toxins permiating the muscles tissues
 
I wouldn't chance it. It sounds to me as though the rabbit had multiple health issues. I would eat a rabbit that died as a result of an accident (such as a broken neck or back from a fall) but not one where the rabbit was clearly ailing from unspecified disease. In the case of a rabbit suffering from a known problem like hepatic coccidiosis, I would eat the muscle meat but discard the organs.
 
Thanks for the advice. I guess I'll be composting its remains then.

Someone suggested the rabbit may have contracted herpes from the colony. Should I be concerned about having contracted anything from the rabbit during the slaughter or while tanning the hide?
 
The pimples or sores on the rabbit's vent do sound like what they call rabbit syphilis or vent disease. Anyone raising rabbits should familiarize himself with this disease. But be assured that it is NOT the same as human syphilis and it is NOT transmittable to humans. So if that was the problem, you don't have to worry about handling it.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_disea ... h_gen.html

There are rabbit diseases that can be a risk for humans. Tularemia is one. It is rare in domestic rabbits, but if they were raised in a colony on the ground, they could theoretically be exposed via wild rabbits. I mention it only because you seem concerned about zoonotic rabbit diseases.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_disea ... aremia.htm

The site where these links are found is a good one to bookmark for easy reference.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/index_en.htm

I hope this is helpful. :)
 

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