Eating City Squirrels?

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txaggie929 said:
Where I live, squirrels are a nuisance and there’s no season on them. Shot quite a few and never did anything wit them.

My thoughts are that living in the city, I have no idea what they may have gotten into or eaten, and therefore I haven’t thought eating them to be a good idea.

Any other city people eat any squirrels they shoot?
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Nope. Into the trash with them. Don't even handle them without gloves.
 
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txaggie929 said:
Where I live, squirrels are a nuisance and there’s no season on them. Shot quite a few and never did anything wit them.

My thoughts are that living in the city, I have no idea what they may have gotten into or eaten, and therefore I haven’t thought eating them to be a good idea.

Any other city people eat any squirrels they shoot?
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Personally I wouldn't eat a city squirrel outside of a survival scenario.
 
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A rat is rat no matter where it lives. Its prime diet is nuts and berries. Eat it and know its not lab grown meat. Power broil it and make dumplings. I kill city deer to!

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If you are okay spending a little money, you could take portions of your kills to a lab and have it tested, to get a sense for what is typical.

Perhaps do a "sunny" test where you get leg or back meat tested, and a "pessimistic" test where you have some liver tested.

A lot of labs have standard suites to test for, but things like lead and mercury would be normal tests.

Cadmium, Arsenic, Zinc, Selenium and Copper are also good things to check.

Just googling around I found a paper that mentions in some parts of the States, pigs, ducks and squirrels can have dangerous levels of any of these.

Here is an NIH paper from 2021: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8621197/#:~:text=Smelter/environmental pollution contributed to,role in contaminating red deer.
 
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delooper said:
If you are okay spending a little money, you could take portions of your kills to a lab and have it tested, to get a sense for what is typical.

Perhaps do a "sunny" test where you get leg or back meat tested, and a "pessimistic" test where you have some liver tested.

A lot of labs have standard suites to test for, but things like lead and mercury woud be normal tests.

Cadmium, Arsenic, Zinc, Selenium and Copper are also good things to check.

Just googling around I found a paper that mentions in some parts of the States, pigs, ducks and squirrels can have dangerous levels of any of these.

Here is an NIH paper from 2021: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8621197/#:~:text=Smelter/environmental pollution contributed to,role in contaminating red deer.
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The internet is a weird place officially. Just eat the animals or don't but no one lives around Chernobyl. The amount of chemicals in water bottle and tap water is more of a threat. The food industry puts more poisons in there so called health food. This comment was weird to me because here in Tennessee in these hills we eat what we hunt or it goes to the dogs if it looks funny or smells or just to reward them.
 
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addison said:
The internet is a weird place officially. Just eat the animals or don't but no one lives around Chernobyl. The amount of chemicals in water bottle and tap water is more of a threat. The food industry puts more poisons in there so called health food. This comment was weird to me because here in Tennessee in these hills we eat what we hunt or it goes to the dogs if it looks funny or smells or just to reward them.
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With all the stuff our F D A says is "safe for consumption", I'd bet the animals in Chernobyl are safer to eat!
 
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I wouldn't. I lived in Chicago, Il for 42 years. We had rats as big as cats. The city would put rat poison packs in the alleys and nail little signs to all the wood electric poles warning of it (the poison packs). We learned from an early age not to touch those little square packs. The rats ate it a little at a time and became immune to it. They call them "super rats". Squirrels are called "tree rats". A rat is a rat. No city squirrels for me.
 
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As with any critter, if you give them a good roast to ensure any unwanted parasites or bacteria are well and truly done for, and you're absolutely certain of where your squirrel’s been scampering about, then you’re probably in the clear. Still… let’s be honest, city life isn't all acorns and tree-hopping and they are often exposed to all sorts of nasties—pollution, heavy metals, pesticides, car fumes, industrial gunk—you might be getting more on your plate than you bargained for.
 
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Paul Be Careful said:
As with any critter, if you give them a good roast to ensure any unwanted parasites or bacteria are well and truly done for, and you're absolutely certain of where your squirrel’s been scampering about, then you’re probably in the clear. Still… let’s be honest, city life isn't all acorns and tree-hopping and they are often exposed to all sorts of nasties—pollution, heavy metals, pesticides, car fumes, industrial gunk—you might be getting more on your plate than you bargained for.
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All that stuff is added to our food in the good Ole US of A!
 
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Dr. Kralenstein said:
All that stuff is added to our food in the good Ole US of A!
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Ah, it's not just your side of the pond, I'm afraid. That’s exactly why we head off into the countryside to hunt for a bit of proper free-range meat or get some steak from the right farm. Feel the same about city veg gardens—lovely initiative and all, but I’d rather not season my salad with a side of exhaust fumes, if you know what I mean?
 
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