Is It Safe to Eat Deer Meat?

deerHere is information the Lyme Disease Association Inc. (LDA) is providing for informational purposes only. The LDA does not take a position on the topic.

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

  • You will not get Lyme disease from eating venison or squirrel meat, but in keeping with general food safety principles, always cook meat thoroughly. Note that hunting and dressing deer or squirrels may bring you into close contact with infected ticks.
  • There is no credible evidence that Lyme disease can be transmitted through air, food, water, or from the bites of mosquitoes, flies, fleas, or lice.

Read CDC website on transmission of the Lyme disease bacterium  (page reviewed last January 29 2020)


 

According to the Wisconsin Cooperative Extension Service, Meat & Animal Department, University of Wisconsin in a document prepared in 11/90:

(The LDA recommends if you are concerned with this issue presented in the Lyme Disease, Deer Hunting and Venision Safety flyer below, that due to date of the flyer, that you contact the preparer listed on the document to see if they have any new information on the topic or if their recommendation still stands.) 

Note: 2 pages total. Scroll for 2nd page, or click for page 2 at bottom

Wisconsin cooking deer meat