Is it safe to eat venison tartare from an animal that was harvested in the wild?

Question

I recently watched a cooking show on how to prepare venison tartare. There was an explanation given by the host stating that the venison was acquired at a local deer farm. There was no mention regarding meat that was harvested in the wild.

Deer farming keeps the deer in a controlled environment where their diet is controlled as well as the deer receiving the proper vaccinations.

Since wild deer don't have a controlled environment or vaccinations, would it still be safe to eat raw meat from deer harvested in the wild?

Answer 1

If you really want to eat that raw, freezing the meat at -4 deg F (-20°C) or lower for 30 days or more should kill most if not all the types of parasites found in deer.

Different parasites die at different temperatures, for example:

• Anisakiasis (fish worms) can be treated at -4°F (-20°C) or below for 7 days (total time).

• Trichinellosis (pork worms) treated by freezing pork less than 6 inches thick for 20 days at 5°F (-15°C) to kill any worms.

• Venison -4°F (-20°C) or below for 4 days.