Troy Dietterich sent this photo and email:
I may have shot a Bullwinkle nose deer. I have it butchered and in my freezer, and plan to eat it as it is mixed in with my other deer meat. I did not contact any state departments about this and just stumbled upon this issue as a friend sent me the article.
Southeastern PA, WMU 5C Killed Oct 29 2022 A.M.
This deer was the biggest one around. This area rarely produces deer larger than 120”. This buck scored 153 6/8” gross and weighed 246# live weight and 192# dressed. Just a massive animal for these parts.
I butchered the deer myself and the meat and bones/joints all looked healthy.
I did not take the head anywhere but the taxidermist.
Here at Big Deer we have amassed the largest database of big-nose, or Bullwinkle deer, anywhere online. Does and bucks with big, swollen snouts have been documented from Florida to Texas to Minnesota , but this is the first big-nose we’ve seen from Pennsylvania.
Strangely, ground zero for the disease seems to be Alabama, where the first known case of Bullwinkle (the disease is so new that scientists don’t have a technical name for it yet, but the common name fits for now) was documented in 2007.
How and where deer acquire the Bullwinkle bacteria is unknown.
Is a deer with a swollen nose safe to eat? Scientists say the long-term nature of the infection could mean that bacteria are present in the blood and muscle of the meat, or a secondary infection could also have developed. They advise not to eat the meat of a big-nose deer.
