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I find it astonishing that the disease risk doesn't lead to a strong aversion to having contact with other animals for any purpose other than reproduction. This is especially true for cannibalism.

In the wild, antibiotics are not provided. Worms can get in the heart, lungs, and brain. Even external parasites are risky. Disease means death.

The situation is slightly more understandable with some of the dedicated meat eaters. Vultures for example, have unusually strong stomach acid to deal with the infectious agents. Snowshoe hares and ruminants don't have that.



Clearly the evolutionary (survival and procreation) benefit of getting the easy protein is greater than the risk of acquiring a disease.

Your point is probably valid for cannibalism, which is why it's rare, and even rarer outside of young. The latter not yet having had an opportunity to acquire disease.


Rabbits in the wild don't generally live long enough to die of parasite infections.


starvation is likely a more imminent threat for wild animals than for humans, making this a better trade-off (raw meat) for them




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