Life may not be the same
When the SHTF situations arise, you may not be able to shop like you used to.
As the pandemic pointed out, there are far too many hoarders and selfish people grabbing everything they can for themselves.
Then your own stocked food supply may not be enough for your family and you will need to supplement it somehow.
That is when you start looking around the city to see what wild animals you can kill for a nice meal.
It may not sound nice but when it comes to survival, it is either going to be you, your family, or those animals.
It won’t be those animals as someone else will not have any qualms about killing and eating them.
Wildlife definition
One of the things you need to understand is that all the animals living in your city are mostly wild.
They are not your friends nor are they domesticated for the most part.
The definition of wildlife by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “ living things and especially mammals, birds, and fishes that are neither human nor domesticated”
That definition covers a lot of ground in the city.
You may think that wildlife is bears, coyotes, foxes, moose, deer, antelope, and more.
These are animals you may not find in the city where you live except in the zoo.
But there is other wild game in your city that you may never have thought about killing and eating.
They are too cute and too harmless to think about that aspect.
Depending on the type of SHTF scenario, these wildlife creatures are fair game, even if they remind you of a cartoon character or two.
When it comes to survival, it may boil down to you getting over the cute and harmless characteristics and just closing your eyes and eating.
The selection of wildlife you may have access to will depend on where you live.
You won’t find polar bears in Omaha or crocodiles in Nome.
The first wildlife locations that will be targeted
If they survive the catastrophe, desperate humans looking for fresh meat may attack two popular locations first.
Those two locations will be the zoo and wildlife sanctuaries.
There are a lot of good edible animals in those two locations.
However, if your zoo does have polar bears be careful of their liver.
It could contain toxic levels of Vitamin A.
The same goes for bearded seals.
Then the wildlife preserves will be filled with a variety of good-eating birds and other animals.
Ducks, geese, and more will be found in those locations.
In the beginning and if the animals were not killed in the catastrophe, you have a wide selection of good eating meat before you get to those urban wildlife options.
The weapons to use in hunting urban wildlife
While guns are the easiest to use, those items may be overkill.
They will just be too large of a caliber to leave any meat behind.
Plus, the noise factor may draw a crowd looking for your game.
Some rats, mice, and rabbits can be trapped the normal way.
You just have to be good at trap-making and setting to capture those smart creatures.
Birds can be caught using nets.
No weapons may be needed for those animals in parks, etc., as they are used to being fed by humans and may approach you.
For safety’s sake, you should have a gun along just in case the wildlife is too large for other weapons or you meet up with some two-legged versions that will harm you for your food.
There are nocturnal animal breeds which means you have to either hunt at night or set very good traps.
The only problem with trapping wildlife in the city is that they may not be healthy.
Rabies is the worst to watch out for and it can only be transferred if you have broken skin, get bit, or come in contact with their saliva or brain tissue.
The tools you will need will be a sharp knife, bow and arrows, a sling shot, a hatchet, and so on.
The weapon should be designed for the game you are hunting.
Don’t forget traps, clubs, stones, or a piece of solid iron.
All will come in handy at some point in time.
Urban edible wildlife
Let’s look at what options you have when it comes to game you can hunt in urban areas.
1. Squirrels
They are plentiful in some cities and they make a delicious meal.
The problem is they are also quick, so you have to be good.
Trapping is a solid method to use as is using an air, BB, or pellet gun.
2. Rabbits
They can be found anywhere and you can always start breeding them just in case.
They make an excellent meal and are considered a delicacy in some countries.
If you are good a bow and arrow works just fine and it is quieter than a .22
3. Oppossum
If you are desperate this is a good option.
The meat is not as tasty as rabbit or squirrel but it will feed a family for at least one night.
You need to trap them at night as they are nocturnal in nature.
4. Raccoons
Another nocturnal animal that may not be in every city but they make for some nice meals.
Besides supplying meat, their fur makes for some good caps and other winter clothing items.
5. Doves
These little birds are in plentiful supply.
You should find them just about anywhere in the city.
You may not get any meat from their legs or wings but the breasts are said to be delicious.
Go for the head to preserve the meat in the breast.
6. Pigeons or Squab
as plentiful or ore so as doves.
They are everywhere and the same things apply.
The breast is what you want and about nothing else.
For pigeons and doves, it is about one bird per person.
7. Groundhogs
Don’t poison them when you find them in your yard.
Instead, let them live so you have a little food supply when SHTF.
These little creatures are supposed to have about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of meat on them.
Watch how you kill them as you do not want to be eating pellets or bird shot.
8. Muskrat
You would normally find them around creeks and streams and you should find them late at night or long before sunrise.
It amazes a lot of people as to their taste.
They are supposed to be very tasty animals to eat.
9. Rats
Probably one food source you won’t run out of for a long while.
When they are big, rats have a lot of meat on them.
This may be one of those dishes you would have to hold your nose and close your eyes to eat.
10. Foxes
Not many of these will be seen in the city but if you do see one, make sure to kill it quickly.
You can always use the fur for clothing or shelter if you know how.
There is not a lot of meat on foxes and they wander around late at night.
What you need to know about urban wildlife
Wildlife is not protected from bacteria and bacteria grow in temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees F.
When you do not have refrigeration available during an SHTF situation, you need to clean the body as quickly as possible and prevent bacteria from growing.
When you clean the meat off the body, you need to throw the remains and the organs away.
This is not done by tossing it aside as that will draw larger animals to the scene.
Burying the remains is the best option and one that will keep your area free from larger predators.
Burying also helps stop bacteria from growing and cuts the odor down.
Field dressing the meat is the best option as it allows for rapid cooling of the body which discourages bacteria growth while improving the quality of the meat.
Also, when you track and kill the game, this is a meal that must be eaten as soon as possible.
Unless you have refrigeration, the meat will go bad very quickly and won’t last for more than a few hours or a day.
When you are hunting, be aware of your surroundings.
After the kill, you may not be in a safe area to dress and cook the meat.
You may have to transport it to a safe spot.
Having a cooler with ice on hand is one way to do that.
Some final words
It is best to study how to kill and eat urban wildlife.
While there may be a lot of urban wildlife around, it just may not be safe to hunt, kill, dress, cook, and eat the meat.
When the SHTF there may be some two-legged fiends who will think nothing of harming you for the meat you killed.
So, go armed for self-protection and be careful.
Times are different when SHTF but now you know what game you can hunt.
Originally posted 2023-04-05 23:56:42.
