Eating Raccoons and Preserving Hides

[Salvo]

Hi Folks,

FYI skinning video. Easy peasy:

https://youtu.be/UuMxm2r4JzA

Sal

[The15thMember]

My sister bought a box trap a couple of weeks ago, and she has caught 3 raccoons and 2 opossums so far.  She has been using this stuff in an orange bottle "Deer Hunter's and Trappers Hide Tanning Formula" to preserve the hides, mostly because it's easy to use, but it's kind of expensive.  Do any of you have a different method you could recommend?

[iddee]

Do a search for "brain tanning". Every animal has enough brains to tan it's hide.

[Terri Yaki]

mmm, mmm, possum innards. The best thing about them is...they's just as good the next day. 

[iddee]

Comparing raccoon meat to possum is like comparing caviar to frog eggs,
or Bass to Carp..

[Terri Yaki]

Comparing raccoon meat to possum is like comparing caviar to frog eggs,
or Bass to Carp..

I'll gladly accept your assessment, no verification necessary.

[iddee]

What is fun is watching your new brother-in-law eating his FIRST frog legs when the head comes out of the newspaper it is wrapped in, with entrails following. The look on his face is still vivid in my memory 65 years later.

NO, he did NOT finish the legs.

[Terri Yaki]

Ewwww

[The15thMember]

We haven't eaten any opossum (yet), but we did crock pot one of the raccoons and it was pretty good. 

Do a search for "brain tanning". Every animal has enough brains to tan it's hide.

Is there any concern with using the brain with raccoons, given that they can carry distemper? 

[iddee]

Research it. I'm not a vet, but I think distemper is so rare and so easily seen, that being struck by lightening would be more of a concern. Also. I think , to be contaminated, the sick animal's saliva must get into a wound in the recipient.

[BeeMaster2]

Iddee,
Here in north Florida, I have seen several raccoons with distemper. They do things like walk right up to you, sleep right out in the open, and of course they have really bad seizures which is why the are exhausted and fall asleep in the open. At first I thought they had rabies because they walk right at you. I think they are really just looking for help. The last one that I dealt with kept coming to me and falling asleep. He would wake up and again try to come to me. I did help him, buried him deep after putting him out of his misery.
Jim Altmiller

[Ben Framed]

Considering the following, iddees suggestion of brain tanning should be of no more concern than skinning and eating when it comes to distemper?

Symptoms: Fever, discharge from the eyes or nose, coughing, lethargy, disorientation, tremors, and seizures

Risk: Puppies under four months and unvaccinated dogs are most at risk

Spread: Airborne transmission and contact with shared surfaces

Prevention: Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent distemper

Treatment: Immediate and aggressive treatment from a vet may help, but neurological symptoms may persist

Other animals: Distemper can also infect raccoons, skunks, foxes, coyotes, ferrets, pandas, wolves, pinnipeds, and some primates

Humans: Distemper does not affect humans

Puppies are given their first distemper vaccines at 8, 12, and 16 weeks of age. After that, adult dogs should receive booster shots every one or three years, depending on the vaccine.
If you suspect your dog has distemper, you should visit your vet immediately.
Source: Google

[The15thMember]

So based on what you guys are saying, and after looking at it myself, it does seem that distemper would be fairly obvious in a raccoon, and healthy-looking individual is likely not in danger of transmitting the disease.  That's good to know.  We do have dogs and cats, so that was the primary concern there. 

[iddee]

Like I said above, Jim, it is easily seen, and not a danger.

[Ben Framed]

So based on what you guys are saying, and after looking at it myself, it does seem that distemper would be fairly obvious in a raccoon, and healthy-looking individual is likely not in danger of transmitting the disease.  That's good to know.  We do have dogs and cats, so that was the primary concern there.

If your dogs and cat are vaccinated, you should be OK

[The15thMember]

Our dogs are kinda sorta up to date on vaccinations, but our cat absolutely isn't.     

[iddee]

PLEASE, get them ALL up to date. One scratch from a cat that has rabies, although not far along enough to show signs, can give it to a human. There is no cure for it once it sets in on a human.

[The15thMember]

Our cat is indoor only, and she has never once tried to get out a door or window, so that's why we don't really worry about it for her.  She hasn't even been to the vet since she was a kitten, and she's 12 years old now.  The dogs are up to date on their rabies, it's the other stuff I'm not 100% sure of.  We usually do the minimum that our vet requires, and she (thankfully) doesn't require much.                         

[Ben Framed]

I lost a dog to Parvo. A magnificent German Shepherd. He had been vaccinated and up-to-date on his shots and still contacted Parvo. He was out of one of John Shaws dogs. John ran a navy seals training facility West of me, next to the Mississippi River. Probably from the best bloodlines of German Shepards in the world at that time . Very smart and was easy for me to train . It was a heavy loss to me .

[iddee]

Although rare, even house mice can get rabies.