I can't answer your question, but since the subject line is Porcupines, I thought I would mention that in the PNW the native americans considered it poor form to kill and eat porcupines, because they were such a great source of emergency food for someone who was stranded or starving. They were so easy to kill that hunting them generally could have easily wiped them out in a generation or two.

You can whack them with just about anything heavy, drag them onto a fire to burn off the quills and cook them, and you've got a meal.

Just a thought for those of us who wander around the backwoods.