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Simple Summary: Hunters who dress and eviscerate carcasses for self-consumption have no access to hygienic conditions like those present in modern slaughterhouse facilities. Together with the behaviour of self-consumption without previous initial examination or inspection of the hunted wild boar's carcasses after each driven hunt, some poor evisceration, handling, and hygiene practices occur. Bad practices such as too long a time between shooting, evisceration, and cooling; wrong handling methods of the carcasses when faecal contamination is observed; and not using proper equipment are common among Portuguese hunters. These are risky practices that lead to food insecurity and the acquisition of foodborne diseases from this self-consumption of wild boar meat. Added to all this is the fact that hunters do not recognise lesions compatible with zoonotic infections when eviscerating and handling the carcasses. There is a lack of information and training on this issue. It is necessary to join efforts (hunters' associations, scientific community, and public health authorities) and develop strategies to increase the knowledge of best practices among this population at risk. The microbiological contamination of wild boar meat depends on the hygiene practices that hunters apply during its preparation, from the point of collection to its refrigeration. This study assesses Portuguese hunters' knowledge of hygiene practices when handling wild boar carcasses that can jeopardise meat safety. A general structured survey entitled "Private consumption of game meat and good hygiene practices" was distributed to Portuguese hunters. Of the 206 respondents, 95% use wild boar meat for private consumption without prior inspection or initial examination by a veterinarian. This study also revealed that the vast majority of respondents have several risky practices that can compromise the safety of wild boar meat consumed (evisceration, handling, refrigeration, and transport). It is also evident that there is a lack of knowledge related to recognising lesions compatible with zoonotic infections in the hunted animals. These inappropriate knowledge and practices can pose a risk to hunters (occupational zoonotic health) and consumers (foodborne diseases). To reduce this risk, hunters need to be trained and informed about proper game meat handling practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A thorough understanding of the inherent qualities of venison and the specialized techniques and methods for processing it, especially considering the difficulty of its preparation, is a prerequisite for the growth of the game meat processing industry as well as the manufacture of game meat products. The biological material used in this study is composed of hind carcasses that were collected from the 24 Frasin hunting area in Suceava. The carcasses were processed through the technological operations of cutting and deboning, followed by the selection of anatomical regions suitable for the production of traditional venison specialities. Following the practical implementation of the proposed processing operations, each anatomical region, as well as the auxiliary anatomical parts of the carcass, were evaluated proportionally; their weight was determined in relation to the total weight of the carcass. For the whole carcass, yields of 32.74% muscle tissue of specialities, 25.75% quality I and II meat, 13.3% bone and 10.59% connective tissue were found. The weight of the animal's gunshot wound represented 17.59% of the total carcass weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low consumption of game meat is directly related to the insufficient exploration of data on game meat processing and handling. Taking into account these considerations as well as the fact that in the practice of the meat processing industry methods and assessing game meat for processing have not yet been developed, the main aim of the paper is to highlight how this is done from a practical and applied point of view in the main game meat processing operations in terms of cutting, deboning, and selection of game meat for processing, associated with the determination of the carcass yields of the main sliced anatomical regions of the higher quality classes used to obtain traditional specialty products. To this end, following the primary processing of the game carcasses, the weighting of each anatomical portion will be assessed, both at the level of the region and of the carcass as a whole. The reasoning behind the processing of game meat into traditional specialties encompasses the complex features of the anatomical regions intended for the production of these products as well as the species of origin. For these reasons, the present study will concentrate on the cutting and deboning capacity of wild boar meat in accordance with the methods of processing the anatomical regions of the higher quality classes of their carcasses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research describes a study of homemade meat products of wild boar shot with lead ammunition. Initially, X-ray radiography of the entire batch of sausages was performed to ascertainment the presence of larger lead fragments. Afterward, visibly uncontaminated parts of sausages were examined using 3D scanning microtomography and the presence of lead microscopic particles was found. The results of quantitative analysis reported a high mean lead concentration than the maximum permitted levels according to EU Regulation 1881/2006. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers the possible impact of chronic wasting disease (CWD) among the Cervidae or cervid family on the Florida deer market and the Florida CWD regulations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised against eating CWD-infected animals to avoid human infection. It explains the importance of the deer economy in the country. It mentions the focus of the CWD regulations of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC ) on carcasses and live cervids.