Eating Squirrels

[Helen]

Hi Pauline.

I don't understand your reasoning that if people are "cutting up, eating etc" wildlife, then they don't really care.

What I don't really care about is the egg produced at the battery farm, is the turkey that everyone can buy for almost pennies at the supermarket because it's been mass produced in appauling conditions, is the chicken unable to move because it's cooped up with so many others. That's what I don't care about.

To eat a deer/squirrel/pheasant etc, after it has lived an entirely natural life, unlike the turkey's and chickens etc I mention above, would produce no feelings of guilt, or not caring, whatsoever.

It's irrelevant what happens to a carcass, the animal is dead. It's what happens before it's died, that I am concerned about.

[Kayleigh]

Add rat catcher to the list.

I think squirrels were bought over for food in the firs place. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Boo]

Originally Posted by paulinemiller10

I'm new on this forum, and I'm surprised to find on a wildlife forum, people are cutting up, cooking, eating, freezing and shooting the wildlife, if people on wildlife forums don't really care, what chance has wildlife got, as caring wildlife people, we should be caring for all wildlife , not just the ones we like. Pauline

I am also new to this forum and I agree with Pauline, we are supposed to be protecting our wildlife. I understand that there is to be a squirrel cull soon. I am totally against that, we should leave nature alone, it always has a way of balancing itself out.

[nightshade]

Country people lived off the land they did not, for instance keep squirrels in cages, they had to catch them first! Have you ever noticed how difficult it is sometimes to even see a squirrel,a Rabbit or a pheasant?
We will never totally agree so lets just respect each others point of view and appreciate some of the history, before supermarkets gave people time to feel guilty about their own or other peoples eating habits

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Boo

I am also new to this forum and I agree with Pauline, we are supposed to be protecting our wildlife. I understand that there is to be a squirrel cull soon. I am totally against that, we should leave nature alone, it always has a way of balancing itself out.

We have indigenous wildlife in this country where they have natural predators. It is a fine balance the Grey squirrels are aliens, they are putting our own very attractive Red Squirrel in danger on extinction. they also kill trees which ours does not. I am in favour of anyone eating them. There are to many alien species in this country doing incredible damage to our own wildlife which we should protect. We will not have it forever

[nightshade]

I have been told of a number of instances of children being attacked by greys
some apparently unprovoked others whilst offering food but apart from one instance of a2 year old being bitten on the forehead they are unsubstantiated
I well remember a school trip when we stopped at
something forge a girl ended up fighting a squirrel for her lunch!

[Fritillary]

hello
I dont find any shocking here about eating meat. I want to say being vegetarian doesnt mean that the mention of eating meat is repulsive.... I think it is a little excesive.
In my case I eat everything ( ) and that dont make me to feel guilty because we need to eat to live. I admit that I prefer eat more vegetarian than meat and I could not kill any animal at all. if I had to live in the nature I would become vegetarian that is sure.

Appreciate and conserve nature doesnt imply to be vegetarian, that it is an human invention.

Lions, tigers, wolf, etc, are carnivorous and it is really cruel how they kill their preys sometimes. And all it is under the natural law.

I agree with you in the excess, it is sure that the production in mass do animals life a misery and that it shouldnt be. But if people are eating TOO MUCH meat it is sure that this ways of production will go on. To reduce my guilty of eating meat, I try to buy meat of animals that lived free.

About the "killer squirrels" I am suspicious about that, sometimes animals can be sicks and attack or maybe there is not any food at all. One or two, I agree, but thinking that all squirrels population can be dangerous to humans is too exagerated, like a terror film.

I think I agree with catching gray squirrels, cause they are invaders, we humans, put them here in this island, so we have to do something to reduce their number.

[pheonix]

humans maybe should leave wildlife alone, but maybe humans should have done that a long time ago. it is part of human nature not to be able to leave things alone.
if we were just going to leave things alone there would be no conservation, preservation, ecology, breeding and reitroductions, and the list goes on...

[henrya]

There was a case reported locally of a very agressive Grey Squirrel 'attacking' people, and it eventually was discovered that it had been a pet that had been released. When animals learn to associate people with food, they can lose most of their natural fear of humans, and come very close. If people react by waving their arms or pushing the animal away, the animal will interpret that as an attack, and use what weapons it has in its defence, be it teeth, claws or even antlers.

And Red Squirrels do damage and even kill trees, especially conifers, I'm afraid.

henrya

[Fritillary]

I agree with you Henria
I think one of the problems in conservation (like other projects with animals and plants) it is going to extremes. and because of that the projects can not be achieved. While someones want to protect a natural ecosystem with the cold head, other ones have a romantic perception of the nature, where all animals and plants living together in harmony...


In the case of invasive species, it is tried to diabolise the invasives and beatify the native ones. For all species introduced, just a 10 % become invasive and from them, just a tiny proportion become a really problem. Per example, Phragmites australis is everywhere on the world, it is though the species is originated from Asia or Europe, but have a world distribution, dont do any problem at all.
The ferns Pteridium aquillinum is the same case.

Red Squirrel are very few, so their damages to plants are not perceived. If they were in the same number as gray squirrels, they would be a problem for the forest too. But I think it shouldnt be bad idea to eat gray squirrels, well if there are no predator, it could be a way of reducing their excesive number.

Humans are the invasive species most problematic of all species, but nobody want to recognize it

[eeyore]

I like grey squirells, I agree they are cute, fluffy, very funny to watch etc etc, however anyone who as been involved with managing woodlands, or restoring them for the benefit of wildlife knows that the grey is a menace to the balance of woodland ecology and needs to be controlled by humane means. I once worked for a wildlife trust which shot foxes, fenn trapped Stoats and Weasels, and larsen trapped magpies and crows.

This was a very hard decision for them to make, and for me to carry out but it was necessary to protect the rare ground nesting birds ( it wouldnt have been needed had mankind not messed up the wider habitat and driven these birds nearly to extinction, but that is a different story.) I don't like killing things and I don't do it for fun or for sport but sometimes it is necessary for the greater good of the ecology as a whole.

And that I think is a legitimate topic for a wildlife forum to be discussing !

[paulst]

I have to say that as a vegetarian I completley agree with pat.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by paulst

I have to say that as a vegetarian I completley agree with pat.

Fair enough, I don't agree with your opinion but I completely support your right to express it

[paulst]

Thankyou, I think we will have to agree to disagree.