White Spots on rabbit livers - what is it?

[Dullahan 0]

Guiness gave me white spots on the liver!!!!!!!

 

 

What are you saying that these Rabbits are "Binge Drinking"??

[camgun 0]

Just found this on the web:

Tularemia is a bacterial disease of rabbits that is transmittible to man, usually through openings in the skin. Hunters who notice small white or yellow spots on the surface of the rabbit's liver when they are field dressing it should discard the entire rabbit immediately. During the early stages of the disease the liver can appear normal, though the infected rabbit may behave oddly, move slowly or be easily captured. It is a good idea to wear rubber gloves when dressing a rabbit and it is important to always cook rabbit meat thoroughly. Tularemia is transmitted between rabbits by fleas and ticks. Rabbits die from the disease, so it is not a problem once there has been a good hard frost and the temperature remains cool. A hard frost kills ticks and fleas which carry the disease, and a rabbit infected prior to the freeze will normally die within a few days of contracting the disease.

[Muntjac Man 0]

Just found this on the web:

Tularemia is a bacterial disease of rabbits that is transmittible to man, usually through openings in the skin. Hunters who notice small white or yellow spots on the surface of the rabbit's liver when they are field dressing it should discard the entire rabbit immediately. During the early stages of the disease the liver can appear normal, though the infected rabbit may behave oddly, move slowly or be easily captured. It is a good idea to wear rubber gloves when dressing a rabbit and it is important to always cook rabbit meat thoroughly. Tularemia is transmitted between rabbits by fleas and ticks. Rabbits die from the disease, so it is not a problem once there has been a good hard frost and the temperature remains cool. A hard frost kills ticks and fleas which carry the disease, and a rabbit infected prior to the freeze will normally die within a few days of contracting the disease.

 

I thought Tularemia whilst being widespread in the USA and some parts of continental Europe, had not yet penetrated the good old UK?

 

Interested to hear if anyone knows any different!

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Last year it was sheep grazing .....

 

 

And there in, I strongly suspect, will lie ye answer.

 

Talk to the farmer, by all means, but I wouldn't push too hard if I were you

 

All this talk of fertilisers? Smacks somewhat of a typical, wet behind the ears, bunny hugging young girl in a brand new white coat. She'd likely be more at home castrating healthy Dogs and saying pets need to be put on a drip than thrusting her hand anywhere up to her arm pit.

 

Tuleremia? If that's amongst the uk rabbit population, no one ever told me about it. Checked Google?

[Dullahan 0]

Last year it was sheep grazing .....

 

 

And there in, I strongly suspect, will lie ye answer.

 

Talk to the farmer, by all means, but I wouldn't push too hard if I were you

 

All this talk of fertilisers? Smacks somewhat of a typical, wet behind the ears, bunny hugging young girl in a brand new white coat. She'd likely be more at home castrating healthy Dogs and saying pets need to be put on a drip than thrusting her hand anywhere up to her arm pit.

 

Tuleremia? If that's amongst the uk rabbit population, no one ever told me about it. Checked Google?

 

Ditch, When I came across this I found out later that the Farmer dipped his sheep in organophosphates and I suspected that he had some of the dip in a corner of an unused field.

Edited April 25, 2008 by Dullahan

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Organophos ..... F*ck! Now ye talking, mate!

 

And this is exactly why I was suggesting caution may be the better part of valour when touching on such a subject with the farmer .....

[smasher 1,055]

Guiness gave me white spots on the liver!!!!!!!

yeah and black poo :11:

[Muntjac Man 0]

Well, the mystery continues.....

 

I am now finding this white spots problem in almost every rabbit on all of my rabbit shooting permissions. I have permissions to shoot at 4 different places, spread out over more than 10 miles apart, with differing land uses:

2 locations mixed sheep / arable farm

1 location cattle farm

1 location with just 2 horses in 2 fields, no agro chemicals or weedkillers etc used at all.

 

Absolutely no signs of myxi at all anywhere.

 

Finding it in such heavy concentrations in such geographically spread, different useage loactions is becoming a bit of a worry! There has always been a bit of it about, but nowhere near as heavy concentration as now

 

The white spots are usually say 3mm long, sometimes appear as round shapes on the surface of the liver, sometimes appear as just a white line on the surface, but look as if they go deeper into the liver.

 

Guess I'm going to have to 'bite the bullet' if you'll excuse the pun, and cut one of the white bits open and look inside..

 

Sadly, I'm currently trashing almost all of the rabbits I shoot!

 

What a waste, especially as we've just discovered a new recipe for rabbit that was absolutely superb - instantly became our favourite recipe for rabbit by a long, long way!!!

 

MM

[BRYAN3 29]

Well, the mystery continues.....

 

I am now finding this white spots problem in almost every rabbit on all of my rabbit shooting permissions. I have permissions to shoot at 4 different places, spread out over more than 10 miles apart, with differing land uses:

2 locations mixed sheep / arable farm

1 location cattle farm

1 location with just 2 horses in 2 fields, no agro chemicals or weedkillers etc used at all.

 

Absolutely no signs of myxi at all anywhere.

 

Finding it in such heavy concentrations in such geographically spread, different useage loactions is becoming a bit of a worry! There has always been a bit of it about, but nowhere near as heavy concentration as now

 

The white spots are usually say 3mm long, sometimes appear as round shapes on the surface of the liver, sometimes appear as just a white line on the surface, but look as if they go deeper into the liver.

 

Guess I'm going to have to 'bite the bullet' if you'll excuse the pun, and cut one of the white bits open and look inside..

 

Sadly, I'm currently trashing almost all of the rabbits I shoot!

 

What a waste, especially as we've just discovered a new recipe for rabbit that was absolutely superb - instantly became our favourite recipe for rabbit by a long, long way!!!

 

MM

 

Hi.

I am no vet or biologist or anything, just a shooter.

I think i have encountered what you describe many times over the years.

I believe this to be a result of over population and that is why you often encounter several rabbits showing syptoms all at the same time.

They probably all infect each other.

As you cull more of them the others live more healthily and livers clear.

I have always chucked these livers but used the carcasses for dogs etc.

 

Bryan.

[Guest basil46]

I have seen these spots in some of my rabbits where i shoot.

As i work in a slaughterhouse i`ll take one of these infected livers in and get a vet give me an opinion.

Watch this space.

basil.

[Muntjac Man 0]

I have seen these spots in some of my rabbits where i shoot.

As i work in a slaughterhouse i`ll take one of these infected livers in and get a vet give me an opinion.

Watch this space.

basil.

 

Hi Basil

 

Thanks for that - will be watching this space with interest (when I get back from my holidays - going away for 2 weeks this weekend!) when you get the feedback. As you may have seen earlier in this thread, someone did have some of the livers sent for analysis, but never got any reply!

 

At the moment, whenever I get one with the white spots, to err on the safe side, I trash the whole rabbit - would be interested in the vet's views on whether the rest of the carcass is suitable for either human or dog consumption.

 

Regards & thanks for your help

 

MM