We recently got a couple more submissions of deer afflicted with the big nose phenomenon, which was first documented on BIG DEER back in 2008.
Jeanie sent this picture of a buck that her husband killed near Pauline, SC last November.
And this trail camera shot comes from central Texas.
As this recent article from QDMA explains, “The swollen snouts of afflicted deer result from chronic (long-term) inflammation of the tissues of the nose, mouth and upper lip… How and where deer acquire the Bullwinkle bacteria is still unknown.”
The most common question I get is: “Are these deer safe to eat?”
I have always advised NOT to eat the meat of a big-nose deer, and the QDMA article concurs: “We don’t recommend (eating the meat). The long-term nature of the infection could mean that bacteria are present in the blood and muscle, or a secondary infection could also have developed. Better to be safe than sorry.”
To see more big-nose deer we have posted over the last 6 years, click here and here.
I’ve seen several bucks going around the web this year with this “big nose phenomenon”. I’m surprised that this would affect the meat, I wouldn’t have guessed that. Are there other infections or diseases that make deer meat unsafe to eat Mike?
“Nobody knows what the nose knows, so speak, beak, speak!”
This is a horrible saying my brother used to use on a girl we went to school with who…you guess it…had a big nose. It’s horrible, I know.
Those poor bucks just look like they hurt. Wasn’t aware that the meat might be unsafe to eat.