Silly question - Are foxes good for eating?

[Kernowek Scouser]

My experience of wild food is mostly limited to snaffling a few grapes from the produce aisle of my local supermarket, so to say I know bugger all about what wild food are safe to eat and what are not, would be an understatement.

So early today I found myself having a random conversation about foxes and in particular shooting them, to keep the population down.

My contribution to the 'debate' made in jest but taken seriously was 'if you are going to kill them, you may as well cook them and eat them too'

This comment was met with blank stares, a couple of head shakes and the odd 'pillock' being muttered affectionately under folks breath, which is fair enough as Fox is not an animal that would immediately spring to mind when listing those that are safe to cook and eat.

But it got me thinking (which is always a worry, especially when I have time on my hands) are foxes an animal you could cook and safely eat?
I imagine as they eat anything (and everything) the meat off a fox could be pretty suspect, but would it be harmful?

I genuinely have no idea, so if anyone would care to enlighten me on the viability of foxes as food (and badgers, hedgehogs and other traditional 'roadkill' if you are feeling expansive) I'd be most grateful.

Cheers,

Colin

[luresalive]

It would not be harmful, it will not poison you nor will it pass on any parasites provided the meat is well cooked, but that does not mean it will taste good! I was on a course when the chief instructor told us they were away for a week in scandinavia, the only thing they caught that they could eat was a fox, they ate it, it provided calories but they said it was rank..but then again, we all have different tastes.

[Marvell]

Here's a useful link for this sort of conversation which is all about pest, vermin and game including seasons.

http://www.basc.org.uk//en/departmen...ng-seasons.cfm

Here's a useful thing to know about meat tastes:

Herbivores taste lovely
Insectivores taste porky
Fish eaters taste fishy
Carnivores taste ... potent
Carrion eaters taste disgusting
Rubbish eaters taste rubbish
Pooh eaters taste like pooh

There are exceptions of course, like crocs, which I hear taste rather nice.

So no, a fox is unlikey to be good eating, though I have no friends who have. However, I hear badger and hedgehog are nice, and that's from people who have eaten them.

[Kernowek Scouser]

Cheers fellas, thanks for indulging my curiosity

[Marvell]

it will not poison you

The only time it would is if it was poisoned as cooking does not destroy toxins. One might ask why something got hit by a car. Was it woosy?

[Aaron Rushton]

in the words of crocodile dundee "you can live on it, but it tastes like $#!+" i saw a video of a guy who tried it and he said it tasted real bad.

[luresalive]

I've had croc, it tastes fishy and not in a nice way, I didn't like it. A fox is a dog and dogs are eaten in many countries, there was a program on TV when the guy ate road kill including foxes,he said it tasted like petrol!!!!

[AdrianRose]

I've eaten fox and even tho it was bled out almost instantly it tasted very metallic. You know that usual "copper penny" taste from unbled meat.

I think that a word of caution should be passed on here about the inherent risks associated with eating road kill as Steve pointed out earlier.

I know that you said you would be shooting and eating, which is fine but NEVER eat road kill unless you saw it get run over. Don't want to hijack your thread but a friend of mine lost 6 of his prize gun dogs by eating road kill, long story but needless to say its just not safe.

Ade.

[rossbird]

All I'm gonna say is...don't cook it indoors

[Aaron Rushton]

I've eaten fox and even tho it was bled out almost instantly it tasted very metallic. You know that usual "copper penny" taste from unbled meat.

I think that a word of caution should be passed on here about the inherent risks associated with eating road kill as Steve pointed out earlier.

I know that you said you would be shooting and eating, which is fine but NEVER eat road kill unless you saw it get run over. Don't want to hijack your thread but a friend of mine lost 6 of his prize gun dogs by eating road kill, long story but needless to say its just not safe.

Ade.

we have broken this rule, but i think it was pretty safe. we went up the road to countrywide for an hours and on our way back down the same road we picked up 2 roadkill pheasants, still warm! tasted lovely.