----- Original Message -----
> I expect their findings would apply to domestic livestock, and not
> necessarily usable for wild animals.

Not at all.  Veterinary parasitology texts apply to every conceivable
animal, domestic and wild.

As an alternative, if seeing is believing, go kill a rabbit.  You might be
surprised by what you find.  Quite a few years ago when my boys were first
learning to hunt, one of them brought home a really fine looking rabbit.
The one rule I had about hunting was they couldn't kill anything (other than
a poisonous snake around the house) unless they were going to eat it.  In
other words, no blood sport.  Husband appeared in time to show said son how
to dress fine rabbit.  When he pulled off the skin, there were tiny, tiny
worms crawling around under the skin and on the muscle.  Husband then
necropsied the eviscerated organs/guts to see what other/how many parasites
the rabbit harbored.   Fine rabbit received burial in lieu of a frying pan.

>  Would be interested in the relative burden of parasites between domestic
and
> wild animals.

There's hardly any comparison with how many *more* parasites that wild game
can harbor compared to domestic animals (either pets or livestock) who
receive what's usually known as "proper" care.   Uncared for animals are
another story, and we've all seen those.  As for wild animals, I've seen
fresh roadkill deer that at certain times of the year are so densely laden
with fat, blood-engorged female ticks that on some of the body regions the
deer's hair is hardly visible.  These are just the external parasites.  Any
hunter worth his/her shot (or arrow) learns proper field dressing technique
so as not to contaminate the meat w/bacteria.  And it's probably pretty
accurate to say that most hunters never out of curiosity examine/explore/cut
into the guts & organs once they're removed, so they never really have any
idea just what or how many parasites live inside these contents.  Bear in
mind some parasites are microscopic or nearly so, so the unaided eye doesn't
necessarily spot them all.  My family includes a couple of vets who are
interested in helminths and such things, so I get to see into the recesses
of animals probably more than the average person does.

There's a vector => host cycle associated with parasites, which makes us
largely safe from parasites when we encounter the adults directly.  Some
parasites are vector/host specific, but there are crossovers that can affect
both animals and humans.  In general I would say you're not in any huge
danger of parasites from eating raw meat.  Even trichinosis in pork is
practically unheard of.   Some fish (ex. Whiting, a cheap fish) are known to
be especially parasite-ridden as they come from the ocean. Characterized by
a particular mushiness to the meat.

Hope this elucidates something........gotta run......LOL, son wants his
computer back.

Theola