Okay to eat a rabbit with a jaw abscess?

[Shea]

I have a doe that has been on my cull list for months. An injury saw me with no use of my right arm so she has had a pass. But I'm healed up to a mostly useable state and this doe has Another jaw abscess. Same spot as her last 2 months ago. I had cleaned and drained as best I could one handed, apparently not well enough.

Tried to do a quick lance on it yesterday and it didnt go well. I popped the abscess internally and it has spread under the chin now.

Do I track down another set of hands to help clean it out? Or just process her? Any issue with eating the meat of a rabbit with an abscess?

 

[JOhn B]

I am not a vet, but I thought abscess's were a sign of compromised immune system due to infections. I am not sure how this impacts the meat, but deffinatly interested in other's comments.

 

[arachyd]

An abscess is an accumulation of pus which is the body's defense against infections. The rabbit may have a cavity or cracked tooth that keeps getting infected. I wouldn't think that would affect the meat. It can be difficult to drain an abscess on a rabbit because the pus is thick like peanut butter.

 

[ladysown]

Don't eat anything from around the abscess check the rest of her body carefully before eating

 

[Burelka]

generally I don't personally eat sick animals, I just cull and burry. I might save the fur, but otherwise I don't consume them. This is not at all backed by any scientific reasoning just personal opinion. For example I had a rooster die of a bad foot infection, we did not eat him eventhough it would have been an easy thing to remove and discard the foot alone.