I'd bet anyone who has ever killed a boar has eaten meat that had puss pockets when it was butchered and just doesn't know. I've asked a couple of butchers about them over the years and they all said they just trim them out.
As a side note, I skin alot of hogs, mostly the shoulder and heads and I'd say boars that don't have some kind of infection or puss pocket are a rarity.
According to the Media, they have been processing "downer cattle" for years. I'm sure they process all sorts of terribly sick and infected pigs, chicken, steers, that millions of americans eat regularly with no documented side effects.
None of us would shoot an animal that is truly diseased and sick, or couldn't walk on it's own, was disoriented, etc. But millions of Americans have eaten them. Is it wrong? Yes. However if they feed us "downer" animals, I'm sure thousands or even millions of animals with abcesses (sp) have been eaten with no side effects.
If the meat passes the sniff test, color test, texture test, I'd discard the rotten parts and eat the rest without question.
I would agree with grtwythunter... I have not been presented with a scenario where there is a sick or injured game animal in front of me but, I have thought about this before and I believe I would burn the tag.
One deer i shot this year had puss pockets and wounds from a lion on it's neck and stomach.....i'd use 'good' judgement, i ate mine....but yours sounds a bit worse.
Give it a try, you'll find out in a day or so if you shouldn't have
If you can show that the animal was ill and is not consumeable, you may get another tag. At least in some states this is the case, according to Jim Van Norman's Muly book.
I lot of the mature boars that I have taken were bruised up pretty good up around the neck and shoulders, but I can remember I think only two in 20 years that had highly visible infections that were left for the coyotes and vultures. The infections were found during field dressing and if memory serves me correctly you could really smell the poor bastards. Not your typical boss hog odor.
I don't advocate leaving game, but I would never take a chance on getting sick.
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