What animals are on the menu in ireland?

OttoPilot

If I was living in the wilderness tomorrow what meat would I be looking to hunt? I assume rabbit and fish, what other wild animals are there? (I'm going to say farm animals are off limits)

learn_more

Hare, have fun catching 'em.

dunworth1

Mice, rats, insects, mushrooms and berries

eeguy

Hedgehogs, stoats, mink, the odd stray dog or cat, rats and mice, lost goats.

Plenty of pigeons if you're surviving in a city.

my3cents

Don't forget the obvious cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and chickens that aren't going to die out overnight on farms. Sheep up in the hills may last out depending on what the disaster is and how many people have the same idea.

wolfeye

Up to 60 mammals in Ireland.
Cook them well enough ,they'll be allright.
Too much carnivore liver is toxic ,herbivore liver in moderation is ok.

_Brian

Pheasant would be very common, partridge less common, swans are edible if your feeling adventurous.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Rabbit, hare (but I think you can only hunt hare with a shotgun), grey squirrel (reds are off limits), pigeon, pheasant, snipe, partridge, duck, grouse, mouse, shrew, rat, pine marten, mink, fox, deer, seal, fresh/salt water fish. There's multiple species of some of the above.

If you have the skills to collect, harvest and cook the above, you will not go hungry in Ireland. There's also berries and nuts you can forage for, along with roots and mushrooms. You might want to preserve some of that meat and berries for the winter months when the ground becomes hard and a lot of the wild life becomes scarce.

tc556guy

wolfeye wrote: »

Up to 60 mammals in Ireland.
Cook them well enough ,they'll be allright.
Too much carnivore liver is toxic ,herbivore liver in moderation is ok.

Well since I can't stand liver, I'll leave that for the rest of you

Feisar

As a person who spends a lot of time over the winter months hunting I wouldn't be to happy if I had to rely on game.

If I had to though:

Eels - night lines
Rabbits - Snares
Deer - Rifle

I've often went out after rabbits with the rifle and not seen one. Pheasants, Dad and I went through a dry spell one year and it was six weeks into the season till we got one.
Ducks, well the old school sneaky way would be to be down by the shore before dawn and shoot them on the water.

It's possible to live of the land but its a skill in itself, just because someone is a good hunter doesn't mean they can suddenly be a poacher which is what one would need to be to regularly put food on the table. By hook or by crook would be the mantra to be going by.

Also do you know where to shoot a deer?

Close to the road!:D

Feisar

tc556guy wrote: »

Well since I can't stand liver, I'll leave that for the rest of you

Deer liver fried up with onions and garlic is really good.

Welshlad1970

What about insects? Woodlouse are crustaceans and taste not too unsimilar to shrimp when boiled! Snails are good eating to, but to get tge best out of them, purging for at least a week is necessary.

MysticMonk

Welshlad1970 wrote: »

What about insects? Woodlouse are crustaceans and taste not too unsimilar to shrimp when boiled! Snails are good eating to, but to get tge best out of them, purging for at least a week is necessary.

The average active male requires circa 2000 calories a day to survive. That's a hell of a lot of woodlice.

There's easier ways to source food than scavenging for insects and molluscs

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

MysticMonk wrote: »

The average active male requires circa 2000 calories a day to survive. That's a hell of a lot of woodlice.

There's easier ways to source food than scavenging for insects and molluscs

Insects in addition to other foods is a good idea.

What ideas have you for scavenging so?

Welshlad1970

It wouldn'the be my intention to survive solely on insects, but I wouldn't overlook them either. Foraging is, in my experience, gives you a better calorific return than hunting, even with a gun, trying to bag something as numerous as rabbits or rooks isn't as easy as some think it is. I can find edible plants, native fruits and insects a lot easier than game!

MysticMonk

Myla Muscular Rumor wrote: »

Insects in addition to other foods is a good idea.

What ideas have you for scavenging so?

Insects are seasonal in the main.

No use in the winter.

Plenty of rats and mice around and very easy to catch..rats in particular live near people all the time.


I'm not sure in what context people would be that desperate in Ireland to eat woodlice and rats..if you were on the run you'd be probably stealing food where you find it and supplementing it with killing farm or domestic animals.


If you can fish you'd be better off but fish aren't always easy to catch.

Very very few people are equipped to live in the wild for any length of time especially without proper shelter or a firearm..this is why people exploring or wilderness travelling bring their own rations.

Gravelly

I wonder if you'd burn more calories gathering, cooking, and consuming woodlice than you'd gain from eating them? In a country like Ireland, unless you were trapped inside a building or cave, or unable to move, you would be unlikely to ever need to anyway, as you wouldn't be more than a days walk from a food source.

MysticMonk

Gravelly wrote: »

I wonder if you'd burn more calories gathering, cooking, and consuming woodlice than you'd gain from eating them?.

Course you would. Then of course there's the very real chance of catching some type of intestinal parasite from eating insects.
Then of course there's the overriding need for clean fresh water which comes in before any need for food.

Gravelly wrote: »

In a country like Ireland, unless you were trapped inside a building or cave, or unable to move, you would be unlikely to ever need to anyway, as you wouldn't be more than a days walk from a food source.

This idea of guzzling insects and rats and urban pigeon eggs originated mainly from the nonsense Bear Grylls is famous for along with drinking elephant piss and leaping across fast moving water.

Dangerous and unnecessary in the main.


A person can live three weeks without food but will probably die from hypothermia in a few days outside in Ireland

Not as sexy as pretending to live off local insects though

Gravelly

MysticMonk wrote: »

Course you would. Then of course there's the very real chance of catching some type of intestinal parasite from eating insects.
Then of course there's the overriding need for clean fresh water which comes in before any need for food.




This idea of guzzling insects and rats and urban pigeon eggs originated mainly from the nonsense Bear Grylls is famous for along with drinking elephant piss and leaping across fast moving water.

Dangerous and unnecessary in the main.


A person can live three weeks without food but will probably die from hypothermia in a few days outside in Ireland

Not as sexy as pretending to live off local insects though

As far as I'm aware, woodlice aren't insects, but yeah. For survivalism in general, especially in places where it might be actually necessary, Ray Mears output is far more practical and useful than the cartoonish antics of Bear Grylls.

Welshlad1970

Gravelly wrote: »

I wonder if you'd burn more calories gathering, cooking, and consuming woodlice than you'd gain from eating them? In a country like Ireland, unless you were trapped inside a building or cave, or unable to move, you would be unlikely to ever need to anyway, as you wouldn't be more than a days walk from a food source.

No more than you would stalking, killing and preparing game or fowl, i'd imagine! Considering a rotten log can harbour upto 250 woodlice gathering shouldn't cost you too many calories. You'do have to boil your drinking water, so again, cooking them won'the be to taxing either. No dressing or stalking required or even a weapon or trap!

Welshlad1970

MysticMonk wrote: »

Gravelly wrote: »

I wonder if you'd burn more calories gathering, cooking, and consuming woodlice than you'd gain from eating them?.

Course you would. Then of course there's the very real chance of catching some type of intestinal parasite from eating insects.
Then of course there's the overriding need for clean fresh water which comes in before any need for food.

Gravelly wrote: »

In a country like Ireland, unless you were trapped inside a building or cave, or unable to move, you would be unlikely to ever need to anyway, as you wouldn't be more than a days walk from a food source.

This idea of guzzling insects and rats and urban pigeon eggs originated mainly from the nonsense Bear Grylls is famous for along with drinking elephant piss and leaping across fast moving water.

Dangerous and unnecessary in the main.


A person can live three weeks without food but will probably die from hypothermia in a few days outside in Ireland

Not as sexy as pretending to live off local insects though

There's greater potential for contracting parasitic infections from game and fowl than there are from insects. Encephalitis, leptospirosis, liver fluke, avIan flu, tapeworm, rabies and any amount of gastrointestinal conditions from meat not cooked thoroughly enough. I would forego the Bear Grylls mantra though, but I would trust any information given by the likes of Ray Mears, Ed Stafford and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall about the consumption of invertebrates. At the end of the day the choice is your own, if your not confident in preparing any wild food be it fish, fowl, game or insects then maybe survivalism/bushcraft isn't for you. We're adaptable animals and our diet can be adjusted to take advantage of whatever is abundant and whatever offers use the best calorific return, efficiency is key.

MysticMonk

Welshlad1970 wrote: »

There's greater potential for contracting parasitic infections from game and fowl than there are from insects. Encephalitis, leptospirosis, liver fluke, avIan flu, tapeworm, rabies and any amount of gastrointestinal conditions from meat not cooked thoroughly enough. I would forego the Bear Grylls mantra though, but I would trust any information given by the likes of Ray Mears, Ed Stafford and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall about the consumption of invertebrates. At the end of the day the choice is your own, if your not confident in preparing any wild food be it fish, fowl, game or insects then maybe survivalism/bushcraft isn't for you. We're adaptable animals and our diet can be adjusted to take advantage of whatever is abundant and whatever offers use the best calorific return, efficiency is key.

A couple of good points but my belief is that whereas man *can* live for a limited time by eating insects in an emergency they will not constitute a reliable or sustainable source of food for long.

Survivalism and bushcraft are two seperate things...nobody who takes himself into "the wild" should find himself at the stage where he needs to eat insects..he should have emergency rations,water purification tablets,a space blanket,a firearm/bow/snares/fishing gear etc etc.

But realistically it wont be a long term survival strategy,shows like Naked And Afraid for example nearly always result in some form of starvation over the 21 days with many contestants tapping out way before then.

My point is that eating insects is not likeley to sustain anybody for any length of time and diffculties of hunting game reliably means it was a natural progression when mankind decided to give up hunter gathering and start farming.

If you wanna eat woodlice though by all means do it..they taste like earthy prawns btw.

Welshlad1970

MysticMonk wrote: »

Welshlad1970 wrote: »

There's greater potential for contracting parasitic infections from game and fowl than there are from insects. Encephalitis, leptospirosis, liver fluke, avIan flu, tapeworm, rabies and any amount of gastrointestinal conditions from meat not cooked thoroughly enough. I would forego the Bear Grylls mantra though, but I would trust any information given by the likes of Ray Mears, Ed Stafford and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall about the consumption of invertebrates. At the end of the day the choice is your own, if your not confident in preparing any wild food be it fish, fowl, game or insects then maybe survivalism/bushcraft isn't for you. We're adaptable animals and our diet can be adjusted to take advantage of whatever is abundant and whatever offers use the best calorific return, efficiency is key.

A couple of good points but my belief is that whereas man *can* live for a limited time by eating insects in an emergency they will not constitute a reliable or sustainable source of food for long.

Survivalism and bushcraft are two seperate things...nobody who takes himself into "the wild" should find himself at the stage where he needs to eat insects..he should have emergency rations,water purification tablets,a space blanket,a firearm/bow/snares/fishing gear etc etc.

But realistically it wont be a long term survival strategy,shows like Naked And Afraid for example nearly always result in some form of starvation over the 21 days with many contestants tapping out way before then.

My point is that eating insects is not likeley to sustain anybody for any length of time and diffculties of hunting game reliably means it was a natural progression when mankind decided to give up hunter gathering and start farming.

If you wanna eat woodlice though by all means do it..they taste like earthy prawns btw.

I agree with you. I certainly wouldn't advocate living exclusively on insects, but however unpalatable they may be, in a survival situation they shouldn't be overlooked, in a bushcraft type scenario, I see no harm in supplementing other wild edibles with them either. It's just my opinion, others will differ but I see foraging as going hand in glove with hunting, in the same way as shopping for groceries in a supermarket, I buy meat, but I also like veg and flavourings to compliment it! Also, we live on anew amazing island so being an impossible distance to the coast doesn't apply to us. If we foundo ourselves in a SHTF scenario, the coast is where i'd head for, much like our distance ancestors, the hunter gatherers, as sustaining yourself on fruits of the sea is really doable, from fish to molluscs to seaweed and coastal plants with the added bonus of surfing!!! It's all good!!

the_syco

Myla Muscular Rumor wrote: »

Rabbit, hare (but I think you can only hunt hare with a shotgun), grey squirrel (reds are off limits)

Why are the red ones off limits?

Gravelly wrote: »

In a country like Ireland, unless you were trapped inside a building or cave, or unable to move, you would be unlikely to ever need to anyway, as you wouldn't be more than a days walk from a food source.

You assume that people are not guarding said food sources?

Gravelly wrote: »

For survivalism in general, especially in places where it might be actually necessary, Ray Mears output is far more practical and useful than the cartoonish antics of Bear Grylls.

As someone once said to me; watch the fat survivalists.

=-=

I'm sure a rat burger wouldn't be that bad, but IMO it's really a case of; are you living in the wild out of choice, because you have to, or because you need to go through it to reach your destination?

Gravelly

the_syco wrote: »

You assume that people are not guarding said food sources?

In a zombie apocalypse type situation perhaps, but I was thinking of a more realistic scenario. I would include coastlines, farms etc. in food sources - seems unlikely these would be guarded in their entirety.

MysticMonk

Welshlad1970 wrote: »

If we foundo ourselves in a SHTF scenario, the coast is where i'd head for, much like our distance ancestors, the hunter gatherers, as sustaining yourself on fruits of the sea is really doable, from fish to molluscs to seaweed and coastal plants with the added bonus of surfing!!! It's all good!!

The coast is a good bet but most fishing is seasonal and overfishing have depleted stocks so rod and line fishing is limited in effectiveness especially from shore.
Baited longlines are a better bet or nets if you have some. creels and pots in deeper water will yield crabs and lobsters but really some sort of boat is required..That's when your skills would be tested as well as your nerve but it would be worthwhile attempting it.

It's actually not a good idea to eat shellfish from shallow water during summer but they can be used as bait for seagulls .
Seabirds can be caught with a baited hook tied to a line,nets or simple snares. Gulls are particularly brazen in pursuit of food and their meat, although disgusting is packed with nutrients.

Welshlad1970

I won't touch bivalves if the month doesn't have an 'r' in it, red tides and flagella are too risky, but grazers such as limpets and pennywinkles are safe to eat and available throughout the year and razor clams can be harvested fairly easily on springtides. Edible seaweed is abundant and packed with nutrients. Fishing is seasonal but there are fish available both in the summer through autumn and winter; bass and mackerel in the summer and autumn, cod and whiting in the winter months, spring is a difficult time to catch fish from the shore as most sexually mature fish go to deeper water to breed, but dogfish can also be caught year round and would probably be a staple catch in Ireland. But living on the coast doesn'the limit your range, not far inland presents another plethora of edible wilds that can be hunted or foraged. I would employ plots and set them from rocks and I would set long lines at low tide, if I had a partner then drag netting with a siene net is another option. A boat would open up more opportunities, but if our ancestors could thrive from foraging along the shore, i'may sure modern man could too especially making use of whatever flotsam so happens upon our beaches. Learning how to preserve fish would be beneficial for living on the coast too.

MysticMonk

Welshlad1970 wrote: »

I won't touch bivalves if the month doesn't have an 'r' in it, red tides and flagella are too risky, but grazers such as limpets and pennywinkles are safe to eat and available throughout the year and razor clams can be harvested fairly easily on springtides. Edible seaweed is abundant and packed with nutrients. Fishing is seasonal but there are fish available both in the summer through autumn and winter; bass and mackerel in the summer and autumn, cod and whiting in the winter months, spring is a difficult time to catch fish from the shore as most sexually mature fish go to deeper water to breed, but dogfish can also be caught year round and would probably be a staple catch in Ireland. But living on the coast doesn'the limit your range, not far inland presents another plethora of edible wilds that can be hunted or foraged. I would employ plots and set them from rocks and I would set long lines at low tide, if I had a partner then drag netting with a siene net is another option. A boat would open up more opportunities, but if our ancestors could thrive from foraging along the shore, i'may sure modern man could too especially making use of whatever flotsam so happens upon our beaches. Learning how to preserve fish would be beneficial for living on the coast too.

Have to agree. With the right equipment, knowledge and ingenuity you could certainly make a go of it.

Would be tough though, especially given the weather on the most productive coasts.

my3cents

RE: Needing a boat.

Not necessary where I live, a good few people fish from canoe and get good catches.

I save the crab and shrimp pots that wash up for some of the local kids who use them from canoes again with surprisingly good results. Only problem is marking the pots as if they are marked too clearly then the local boat fishermen come and steal them back. Not marking the pots and placing them by wading out at low tide also gives worthwhile results.

Ash.J.Williams

Crow breasts are like chicken balls

my3cents

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

Crow breasts are like chicken balls

I've never seen balls on a chicken:p

MysticMonk

my3cents wrote: »

RE: Needing a boat.

Not necessary where I live, a good few people fish from canoe and get good catches.

I save the crab and shrimp pots that wash up for some of the local kids who use them from canoes again with surprisingly good results. Only problem is marking the pots as if they are marked too clearly then the local boat fishermen come and steal them back. Not marking the pots and placing them by wading out at low tide also gives worthwhile results.

My apologies.

I included canoes in the category of boat.

my3cents

MysticMonk wrote: »

My apologies.

I included canoes in the category of boat.

I only made the point because I feel a canoe may be more useful in a survival situation and can be taken out of the water and hidden a lot more easily than a boat.

MysticMonk

my3cents wrote: »

I only made the point because I feel a canoe may be more useful in a survival situation and can be taken out of the water and hidden a lot more easily than a boat.

Well there's dozens of types of boats..from a one man corracle to a four man currach..all of which an be made in ireland with local materials.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

MysticMonk wrote: »

I'm not sure in what context people would be that desperate in Ireland to eat woodlice and rats..if you were on the run you'd be probably stealing food where you find it and supplementing it with killing farm or domestic animals.

We are just discussing the question in the OP "If I was living in the wilderness tomorrow what meat would I be looking to hunt?" Insects are an option, but may not always be the best option.

Setting up dead-fall traps or pits is not too difficult. They are very basic and you don't need much knowledge to create either.

MysticMonk wrote: »

A couple of good points but my belief is that whereas man *can* live for a limited time by eating insects in an emergency they will not constitute a reliable or sustainable source of food for long.

Why not?

Survivalism and bushcraft are two seperate things...nobody who takes himself into "the wild" should find himself at the stage where he needs to eat insects..he should have emergency rations,water purification tablets,a space blanket,a firearm/bow/snares/fishing gear etc etc.

The basics of prepping or whatever you want to call it, is to expect the unexpected. You don't belong far from civilization if you are not prepared for the worst.

the_syco wrote: »

Why are the red ones off limits?

They are protected, so they are not legal to hunt. In an emergency situation, laws wouldn't stop people from surviving. While out practicing bushcraft, it's an absolute no go.

MysticMonk

Myla Muscular Rumor wrote: »

Setting up dead-fall traps or pits is not too difficult. They are very basic and you don't need much knowledge to create either.



.

What kind of pits?

Like pits full of stakes that you hafta dig?

Who uses them to trap in ireland?

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

MysticMonk wrote: »

What kind of pits?

Like pits full of stakes that you hafta dig?

Who uses them to trap in ireland?

A hole in the ground, that you have to dig, yea... Stake it or don't stake it, whatever. Does it need to be used by somebody in Ireland in order to be discussed?

Are you purposely missing the point or what?

MysticMonk

Myla Muscular Rumor wrote: »

A hole in the ground, that you have to dig, yea... Stake it or don't stake it, whatever. Does it need to be used by somebody in Ireland in order to be discussed?

Are you purposely missing the point or what?

No I'm not "purposely missing the point".

You said that deadfall traps and "pits" can be used to hunt (in a thread about whats on the menu in IRELAND) and I'm asking you who has ever used pits to catch animals in Ireland,or anywhere in Europe and what kind of animals do you expect to catch?

You also said they can be done without much effort. Right,so what involves more effort than digging a pit in the ground??

Gravelly

MysticMonk wrote: »

No I'm not "purposely missing the point".

You said that deadfall traps and "pits" can be used to hunt (in a thread about whats on the menu in IRELAND) and I'm asking you who has ever used pits to catch animals in Ireland,or anywhere in Europe and what kind of animals do you expect to catch?

You also said they can be done without much effort. Right,so what involves more effort than digging a pit in the ground??

I can attest that football goals make very effective traps for hedgehogs, though I haven't attempted to eat one yet. If I am ever starving in the Irish countryside, and tempted to eat woodlice, I'll first make for the local GAA club and check their goal nets. I can't imagine you'd be more than a couple of hours walk from a GAA club anywhere in Ireland.

MysticMonk

Gravelly wrote: »

I can attest that football goals make very effective traps for hedgehogs, though I haven't attempted to eat one yet. If I am ever starving in the Irish countryside, and tempted to eat woodlice, I'll first make for the local GAA club and check their goal nets. I can't imagine you'd be more than a couple of hours walk from a GAA club anywhere in Ireland.

Once you find the GAA club,ask where the local Mace is and buy a breakfast roll from the hot food counter

Gravelly

MysticMonk wrote: »

Once you find the GAA club,ask where the local Mace is and buy a breakfast roll from the hot food counter

Or raid the club shop.