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HARVESTING YOUR ANIMAL FOR FOOD

Use a special knife for field dressing game.

Although some hunters take their animals to be processed by a commercial facility, you can do it yourself in the field. Field dressing makes transporting meat back to camp or home a lot easier because you only take the edible parts and leave the rest for scavengers. You will need to check the regulations and hunting laws in your state or province to find out if you are allowed to leave deer remains in the wild, or ask your parent to check for you. Some areas only require that you don’t dump deer remains on the side of the road. It is considered littering. When field dressing a deer or other animal, such as a rabbit, always make sure the animal is dead and not merely wounded. Accompanied by an adult, carefully approach the animal and prod it with a stick. Watch for any eye movement or signs of breathing. If the animal is still alive, you must shoot it again to keep it from suffering any further. Shooting through the heart is the quickest way.

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