The aim of the study was to analyse the results of post-mortem examinations of game carcasses conducted in Poland in 2000-2011 by the Veterinary Inspectorate. During that period, nearly 6 million game animals were shot, including mostly wild boars, roe deer and game birds. However, only 3 442 257 of them were examined post mortem by veterinarians. Lesions and qualitative changes were found in 65 970 carcasses (i.e. in 1.92% of the total number examined), of which 16 788, i.e. 25.45% (or 0.52% of all carcasses examined), were judged unfit for human consumption. The most lesions were found in boar carcasses (2.79%), and the least in deer carcasses (1.94%). The most common qualitative change, in both boar and deer carcasses (53.31% and 50.10%, respectively), was putrefaction, which was also the most frequent reason for qualifying carcasses as unfit for consumption (40.10% and 76.45% for boars and deer, respectively). The second most important group of lesions were parasitic diseases. In deer carcasses, the most frequent of these diseases was fascioliasis (14.63%), which, however, was not considered sufficient grounds for declaring meat unfit for consumption. In the muscle tissue of wild boars, trichinosis was found, constituting 15.38% of all lesions. In 2000-2011 trichinosis was detected in the muscle tissue of 3,748 boars (0.33%), and - after putrefaction - this disease was the second most important cause for rejecting boar carcasses as unfit for consumption. About 20% of boar and deer carcasses were judged unfit for consumption because of extreme emaciation. In 2000-2011, there was a considerable increase in the number of big game that were shot and presented for post-mortem examination, whereas the number of small game, especially hares, steadily decreased. The percentage of carcasses in which post mortem changes were found remained at a relatively constant level. An exception was 2007, when a marked increase in the number of carcasses with lesions was noted among both wild boars and deer. On the other hand, a notable decrease in the percentages of lesions and qualitative changes in deer carcasses was observed in 2008-2011, although the number of carcasses submitted to veterinary inspection did not change importantly. A vast majority of these changes resulted in deer carcasses being judged unfit for consumption. These facts may be explained by an improvement in the health status of deer combined with a rigorous performance of post-mortem examinations by official veterinary surgeons.
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