Black Warts: Is The Deer Still Edible?

Gene B. from Michigan asks about black warts that were hanging from the shoulder and belly area of a doe he shot last year. Are such animals edible?

I answered a similar question here several years ago, but I believe it's worth doing again. These warts, called skin papillomas, are caused by viruses, similar to the viruses that cause warts in humans. They spread by direct touching of an infected deer to another deer. It seems that younger deer get them more often than older deer (maybe because younger deer touch other deer more often?). They are most commonly found on the head (again probably because that is where most deer touch each other?). These warts usually don't affect the health of the animal.

You cannot get these warts by touching them, and the meat is fine. Just trim away the areas around the warts.