Can you get sick by eating a squirrel or rabbit or pigeon in summer months?

My parents are scared that if I get one during the summer that it will have worms, or be infected, or have parasites, or something like that. By the way, it is fall now and they are still scared. I'm in NJ, so its now going on the middle of fall. Can I really get sick from eating one? If so, is there anything I can do to it so I can eat it? Like maybe put it in saltwater overnight? thanksCan you get sick by eating a squirrel or rabbit or pigeon in summer months?
I hope this isn't a joke, but...





If you cook the thing fully you should be fine. Saltwater won't kill all potential pathogens and will ruin the meat. You can preserve meat in salt but the meat turns into something very tough (though still contains nutrients). The Native Americans preserved meat with both salt and by smoking.





Squirrels aren't worth it; rabbits are eaten all the time (especially in Europe), and pigeon is a lot like a Cornish Game Hen. Hunting in the wild for these animals is not as bizarre as your parents in NJ might think (ridiculously overdeveloped and industrialized state). You can get sick eating the crabs people catch in NJ because of toxins and carcinogens in the waterways. Yet, you see people doing it all the time. THAT is something to be scared about.





Ask your parents if they know how many times they've found E Coli bacteria or Salmonella in packaged meats from the supermarket. That makes you sick too.Can you get sick by eating a squirrel or rabbit or pigeon in summer months?
I would strongly recommend roasting or cooking it first before eating it because that should kill all the germs and parasites.
you can. they can be diseased and you don't know it. You shouldn't chance it. I mean these are rodents.