Would you eat this bull?

[dgpcpa]

My wife killed her first bull on Halloween, and what started as a great day ended in disappointment. Antlers are cool, but we hunt for meat.
I don't want to be wasteful, and certainly don't want to throw away an elk that took all day to get out, but I'm really struggling with feeding my family with this.

He had a really nasty infection on the bottom of his brisket, that puss was bubbling out. The wound went into the lung cavity.
As you can see, he is very skinny.
I'm afraid the infection might be throughout his body.
You can see the bright viens all over his hide, I don't know that it's related, but I've never seen hide look like this.
Not sure what to do, this sucks.

NMBARTA - bummer man. I would agree to have it looked at by some official if you're leaning toward saving it. But I'd have a hard time chewing it. In the end, your wife probably did that bull a favor by ending his life in a more considerate manner rather than suffering through the winter with that condition - whatever it turns out to be.

 

[sfdoc2000]

Not just Staphylococci but any other of a host of organisms could have infected this animal. The animal this scrawny probably was septic (systemic blood borne infection). Don't forget that cooking to high temp May kill all the bad bacteria but what I worry about is the heat stable toxins that the bacteria may produce. Remember Botulina toxin. Cooking doesn't destroy it.
Staph bacteria double every two hours. if the meat is not frozen it may be destroyed just by the time it takes to process and freeze.
If the game and fish department is not answering the phone and if their office is not too far away I would contact them directly in person. maybe the only way you can get a response.
The only way to determine if the meat is safe is by biologic testing. Costly and takes time. Best option is to try to get a replacement tag. I wouldn't try to eat the meat. And yes, I am a retired Orthopedic Surgeon.
Finally if your wife is still in chemo treatment her immune system is still not yet back to normal. Don't even think about letting her eat that meat.
Very best congratulations on her accomplishment. She's a real trooper. Best to you all. Doc Z

 

[window licker]

Central Montana

Take it to FWP, they may give you another tag, as they did for me with a similar incident involving an antelope 10 years ago. Let them discard the carcass, that way that will prevent a large quantity of elk meat possibly being discovered, and labeled wanto waste.

 

[john dabney]

My wife killed her first bull on Halloween, and what started as a great day ended in disappointment. Antlers are cool, but we hunt for meat.
I don't want to be wasteful, and certainly don't want to throw away an elk that took all day to get out, but I'm really struggling with feeding my family with this.

He had a really nasty infection on the bottom of his brisket, that puss was bubbling out. The wound went into the lung cavity.
As you can see, he is very skinny.
I'm afraid the infection might be throughout his body.
You can see the bright viens all over his hide, I don't know that it's related, but I've never seen hide look like this.
Not sure what to do, this sucks.

Nice bull but wouldn't eat looks like infection in blood which means throughout animal. Would check with game warden for replacement tag

 

[Australia]

Don't give it to the dogs unless you want them to get it

 

[Australia]

It looks like "Chronic Wasting Disease " or Transmissible Spogblackiform encephalopathes which is sometimes called Prion disease and in the UK they called it Mad Cow disease
Carcass should be burnt
Your Department of agriculture should be notified as this can go through all live stock and it is often first noticed in wild species
And make sure you disinfect the antlers

 

[Deleted member 115374]

My wife killed her first bull on Halloween, and what started as a great day ended in disappointment. Antlers are cool, but we hunt for meat.
I don't want to be wasteful, and certainly don't want to throw away an elk that took all day to get out, but I'm really struggling with feeding my family with this.

He had a really nasty infection on the bottom of his brisket, that puss was bubbling out. The wound went into the lung cavity.
As you can see, he is very skinny.
I'm afraid the infection might be throughout his body.
You can see the bright viens all over his hide, I don't know that it's related, but I've never seen hide look like this.
Not sure what to do, this sucks.

No, I would not eat the meat. Even if someone told me it was OK to eat I wouldn't eat it and I certainly would let my family eat it. Unfortunate for your wife that it turned out that way - but for a first bull, that is a heck of a nice bull. Congrats to her.

 

[DJohn59]

I spent many years as a certified meat inspector for my states fish and wildlife department. There is no way I would call that bull safe for human consumption. Easy decision, not even close.

 

[PNWdude67]

My wife killed her first bull on Halloween, and what started as a great day ended in disappointment. Antlers are cool, but we hunt for meat.
I don't want to be wasteful, and certainly don't want to throw away an elk that took all day to get out, but I'm really struggling with feeding my family with this.

He had a really nasty infection on the bottom of his brisket, that puss was bubbling out. The wound went into the lung cavity.
As you can see, he is very skinny.
I'm afraid the infection might be throughout his body.
You can see the bright viens all over his hide, I don't know that it's related, but I've never seen hide look like this.
Not sure what to do, this sucks.

So, I have read through most of the comments and wanted to add a couple things to consider:

1: "wasting" the game meat is against the law in most states. So document Carefully what you do here and the Your rationale as you now have made it public. It is great you have the photos of the infection to back you up. I would suggest you contact your local wildlife officer and show him/her so there's a candid understanding of what happened.
2: When eating wild game it is never without some risk and the infection is definitely a concern as it could have caused systemic sepsis, considering the weight loss and other signs it seems to be the case. Sure cooking it may kill bacteria, but you have to handle it and process it as well prior too. Many processors would turn it away leaving you with some explaining to do with the game warden as to how it was wasted.
3. You and your wife are clearly in the right here and you did all the right things. Congrats on your harvest of thIs Old warrior bull and please ensure the local wildlife office is notified as they will gladly biopsy it and want to understand what kind of issue was going on with this animal. They can tell you how old he is and diagnose any illness or injury. This may help with maintaining the health of the local herd and you will build a relationship with them Also, As mentioned by others, many states will refund or exchange your tag as you were not able to utilize the meat from your harvest. Best of luck with this and thanks for sharing your story. Update us with what happens if anything.

 

[western]

if it was infected it is in the blood. cook it if feeding to your pets.

 

[stel67]

She did, we had him at 900, no wind and she's a great shot, but I didn't like where he was for a long range shot. So we decided to put a sneak on him. I had her bring her .260 "just in case" I thought we'd get to the rise below which would have put him at about 300, and I'd have her shoot my 7x300 win, but we couldn't see him from there. So we just kept going. I told her to chamber one and be ready, I knew we were going to end up stepping on that bull. I spotted him in the timber at about 100, head down feeding straight away, nothing but a tail pipe shot. We moved up about another 20 to a spot where we had a very small clearing in the timber. I told her to just wait for him to turn, but he must have caught a little movement and turned his head back to look over his butt at us. She had her gun up a looked really steady, I asked her if she felt good, and she did. I said put it right on his neck just below his ear and she put a 130 accubond right through his neck at the base of the skull. Perfect shot.
As much as I love long range shooting and hunting, there is something about getting close that makes it more personal. I've killed more elk with a bow than a rifle, it just keeps you coming back.
It was a really fun hunt, and as many of you know, she's been battling cancer. She had to dig down deep to come up with the strength to hike through the mountains while still going through chemotherapy. I'm really proud of her.
When she went in to get her port put in, they started prepping her right side. She asked the doc if they could put it on the left side. Doc said, "sure, but why?". She said, " I got bull tag and I don't want the recoil of rifle messing with my port" Doc says, "only in Montana!" They got a kick out of that.
Hopefully we can get a cow, if not, we'll get a few deer.

I wish your wife luck on her battle with cancer. I had cancer and I also asked for the port to be put on the left so I could shoot my gun with iout the port being in the way. Being able to hunt while going through cancer treatment sure helped me get through a rough time...

 

[lyotehunter]

call the fish and game,if it is bad you may get another tag for a cow .

 

[kiwi phil]

My wife killed her first bull on Halloween, and what started as a great day ended in disappointment. Antlers are cool, but we hunt for meat.
I don't want to be wasteful, and certainly don't want to throw away an elk that took all day to get out, but I'm really struggling with feeding my family with this.

He had a really nasty infection on the bottom of his brisket, that puss was bubbling out. The wound went into the lung cavity.
As you can see, he is very skinny.
I'm afraid the infection might be throughout his body.
You can see the bright viens all over his hide, I don't know that it's related, but I've never seen hide look like this.
Not sure what to do, this sucks.

Dude, are you serious?? That is a seriously sick animal and you would be mad to eat anything of that. The photos made me sick just looking at them and I've been hunting for 40 years. Get rid of it!

 

[orifdoc]

We sometimes forget just how cruel nature is. Bulls fight like crazy this time of year and they sustain numerous injuries. Most likely this is a garden variety bacterial infection, but this bull was on his way out as is evidenced by muscle wasting. Could it be something worse or something rare? Sure, but common infections are common. Prion diseases don't produce prurient drainage. There is no way this problem in domestic livestock would be certified for human consumption. It's no different in this case.

You did this guy a favor. I've seen issues in deer, ducks, elk, and pheasants. The sick ones are easier to kill. Don't fret, enjoy the antlers, and remember a great hunt. There is no ethical issue in this case. Don't feed it to your dogs either. Just my opinion as an MD.