road kill and Dog pie?

[Andy Hamilton]

I was having a chat with someone the other day about what we considered to be acceptable meat. We both said that rabbits were ok to eat and in fact in some places (or whole countires like oz) they are a great pest and you are actualy doing the environment a favour by killing them.

I said that dog was unacceptable, being a bit of a dog person. But what about road kill? hedgehog, badger, possibly even kangaroo (nev)?

[judyofthewoods]

I have no qualms about eating road kill and have eaten the odd rabbit which had just been knocked down shortly before I came along. I would not eat roadkill cat or dog, because they would be someone's pet and the owner may well want to bury it. If the badgers I've found had been fresh, I would have taken them home too. The only damage you would cause is denying the crows a feed. Better to eat an animal which has died accidentally than buying the equivalent protein from either another animal (killed especially) or plants like soy which have their own impact, at the very least in transportation. My cat once killed a squirrel and did not eat it, so waste not want not, I did. Just like rabbit. My only reservations would be on health grounds, if the animal has been dead for an indeterminate amount of time (the rabbits were still warm and soft), if there is sign of desease, or the abdomen has been damaged and gut and bladder content have tainted the meat. Or where pollution is a problem, or cause of death unknown, e.g if it was found not on the road but in the woods, I would have to suspect poisoning on a nearby farm.

[Andy Hamilton]

squirel what does that taste like? I hear that badger tastes like pork and fox just tastes rank as it often feeds on rubbish.

[judyofthewoods]

Squirel tastes like rabbit, I suspect most rodents taste the same, and just like chicken. There is very little meat on them though, mostly on the leg. But for something that died anyway it was better than waste it.
Not tried badger or fox, but heard that badger legs were made into a ham, so perhaps it is like pork. I can imagine that dog fox might be strong, as they do have a musky scent. Not sure about vixen. I think anything higher up the food chain is potentially 'strong'.

[Wombat]

I would amplify judys point about food safety, rabbits over here get myxy or calici virus (ewww yuck ) and you wouldn't touch em with a barge pole. we also have a much warmer climate and decomposition sets in pretty quickly.

I have never tried kangaroo, roadkill or otherwise, but there are restraunts (bugger, can't spell) that serve it. My dad had tried Kangaroo tail and was not particularly impressed. you do sometimes get parasites in wild food and it must be cooked very thoroughtly.

While being driven between Zhuhi and Dongguan in China, I saw a guy with a dead alsation dog on the back of his bike. I don't think he was taking it home to bury it!

[judyofthewoods]

you do sometimes get parasites in wild food and it must be cooked very thoroughtly.

not just wild things - I would cook all meat thoroughly.

[Wombat]

I agree wholeheartedly! but there are some people who will insist on eating "blue " steak!

Nev

[Maranne]

I have on several occasions picked up rabbits or hares that have decided to end it all under my car.
One thing I might caution is that it is an offence to be in possession of a protected animal such as a badger no matter how it died. You may have read about the case of the famous composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies who has been charged for having swan carccasses on his propertry after they died in collision with a power cable.
Sir Peter apparently has a good recipe for Swan breast Turrien.
Cheers
Martyn.

[Andy Hamilton]

I wonder what swan taste like?

I did not know that the law on endangered speicies worked like that. Bumble bees were going to be made into an endangered speicies I wonder if you could get into trouble for have a dead bee on your window sill.

[Muddypause]

I was told that if you run over a pheasant, you are not allowed to pick it up, but someone else can. I guess this is to stop people deliberately trying to run over some dinner.

I think that the problem with swans is not so much that they are a protected species, but that the Queen owns them, by some sort of royal prerogative. But I think it is unlikely that Sir Peter will spend time in the Tower, since he was recently appointed Master of the Queen's Music

[Andy Hamilton]

but that the Queen owns them, by some sort of royal prerogative.

I believe that it is still an act of treason to kill a swan and as such the only thing you can still be hung for in our country. I think that interfering with the post and defacing coins can also be considered treason.

[Maranne]

but that the Queen owns them, by some sort of royal prerogative.

I believe that it is still an act of treason to kill a swan and as such the only thing you can still be hung for in our country. I think that interfering with the post and defacing coins can also be considered treason.

I believe it is only the mute swans on the Thames that have Royal patronage
The swans most common here in Orkney are the Berwick swan which are protected under the relevant wildlife acts.
BTW in my opinion Sir Peter Maxwell Davies should be locked up for crimes against music
Cheers
Martyn