Strange lung tissue in a deer I shot tonight

2068 Views 11 Replies 5 Participants Last post by mfuff, Dec 13, 2016

tdd

Discussion Starter · Dec 11, 2016

I shot a big doe shortly before quitting time. She appears in good health. She is not thin, appears to be well fed. No hair/coat issues, no lumps, bumps, wounds or anything of the like.

When I split her sternum, the lungs had TONS of very fibrous connective tissue. Not the omentum....like spider-webby stuff all over the lungs, top to bottom, connecting to the ribs. It reminds me a lot of the connective tissue between the hide and the muscle....and it was not slippery/wet-feeling like most tissue inside the chest.

I didn't see anything else abnormal about the deer, but I've killed over 80 of these critters and don't ever remember seeing one look like this inside.

Anyone know a good place to get more info?

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tdd

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 11, 2016

I didn't see anything like that in the deer. Just the tons of connective tissue.

The pics and descriptors on the PGC site and in the digest aren't a match for what I saw. Not arguing, just don't seem to align to this one. The lungs themselves did not look remarkable in any way.

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tdd

Discussion Starter · #5 · Dec 11, 2016

Hmmmm....I'm assuming you meant pneumonia, and that would make a lot of sense with what I saw.

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tdd

Discussion Starter · #7 · Dec 11, 2016

It's hanging for now. I dressed it and it's chilling in my shed.

I can call the SE Regional office this week I guess. It doesn't smell, saw no discharge, nor anything of the like.

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tdd

Discussion Starter · #9 · Dec 11, 2016

I'm not sure I've talked to him. I've met and worked with Officer Teehan a few times.

I'll talk to the office Monday and see what they think.

I usually grill the tenderloins right after killing one, but these will wait a few days, I think.

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tdd

Discussion Starter · #10 · Dec 12, 2016

Talked to the SE Regional Biologist today.

He said that they are not supposed to make recommendations on whether a deer is fit for consumption or not, but can issue a replacement tag if there is anything amiss (didn't go into specifics on that).

I described what I saw, and he said there's nothing that he knows of as far as diseases he's aware of that would match with that. His suspicion was it's an abnormality that won't affect the meat, but said to just see what the meat looks like when skinning/butchering and see if it looks/smells/feels like normal deer meat would. I've cut up enough deer to know, so at this point, into the freezer she goes unless I find something not right when I peel the hide.

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