Eating Squirrels

[wildone]

Has anybody tried eating Grey Squirrel? I know that when they were shot during the early 1950's the tails were cut off but the bodies were left on the ground. Remembering that meat was still on rationing then, surely if they were edible the bodies would have been used. I particularly remember this, because I enquired at the time why the squirrels were dead on the ground but minus their tails. Apparently the government paid 1shilling (£1/20th) for the tails.
So I wonder. Are they edible?

[nightshade]

YES,cook in a little bacon fat

[Jonny]

Originally Posted by wildone

Has anybody tried eating Grey Squirrel? I know that when they were shot during the early 1950's the tails were cut off but the bodies were left on the ground. Remembering that meat was still on rationing then, surely if they were edible the bodies would have been used. I particularly remember this, because I enquired at the time why the squirrels were dead on the ground but minus their tails. Apparently the government paid 1shilling (£1/20th) for the tails.
So I wonder. Are they edible?

Try looking here.......http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community...light=squirrel

[thewhippet]

Is danna loiks tha skwirels cos them eets moi smoll birds in moi gardens. best plase for skwirels is in moi mrs pie and i not shi abot eating thems better than them makdonalds

[Pat]

Originally Posted by RobF

Squirrelpox has recently been found in Kielder Forest, one of the last footholds of the Red in England. We are hearing more and more reports of Greys north of the River Rede, well north of the Tyne which was supposed to be holding the grey scourge back.

The last grey squirrel I saw is now in my freezer!

Rob

Freezer Why?

[wildone]

Originally Posted by Pat

Freezer Why?

Did you not know that some people EAT dead animals? Putting it in the freezer is to preserve it for later consumption.

[Pat]

[Helen]

I've not tried squirrel although I know people who have.

Again, it's had a better natural life than animals in intensive farming (chickens, turkeys etc)

[Turtletagger]

Whats wrong about eating dead animals. When I was out in the outback of Australia on a survival excercise I thought there was nothing more succulent than a road-kill Kangaroo that just gone off rigamortice and not too fly-blown, especialy a young buck. Slice off half inch steaks from the rump and slap on a hot frying pan to sear in the juices.

[nightshade]

Sounds alright Turtletagger,in days of yore the squirrel was an accepted
source of protein there was I believe a very long musket called a squirrel gun,
lead weighted sticks were thrown to knock them out of the trees in the autumn when they were nice and fat,dreys were brought down with long poles to get at hibernating squirrels which were plump with stored fat.
As I have said elsewhere 20000 Red Squirrels passed through markets in the 1800s

[Pat]

I think certain members should appreciate that there are vegetarian people who use this site and I for one find it distasteful reading about eating dead flesh,after all this is a site to find out about wildlife and their habitats and habits etc. not whether you find the animals tasty.

[wildone]

Originally Posted by Pat

I think certain members should appreciate that there are vegetarian people who use this site and I for one find it distasteful reading about eating dead flesh,after all this is a site to find out about wildlife and their habitats and habits etc. not whether you find the animals tasty.

Pat, as carnivores outnumber vegetarians by at least 3 to 1 I think those of us who are non-meat eaters must put up with people talking about finding dead animals tasty.

[nightshade]

Sorry Pat the poll shows you to be in a minority,I do get a little tired of political correctness,you may find the discussion offensive and I commiserate,
you could try avoiding threads which may cause offence or not interest you,be selective

[nightshade]

A couple of things
the name squirrel apparently derives from thr latin Sciurus which means the one who wears his tail above his head
Americans have a lot of recipes for squirrel,one is
called Brunswick Stew

[StuartDH]

Personally, I think Pat has got a good point. I eat meat, but I wouldn't flaunt it in front of vegetarians, whether they're in the minority or not. It's not about being PC, it's just a basic courtesy. We're all free to pick our noses, but that doesn't mean we want to read about other people doing it.

Most people use the forum as a focus on appreciating wildlife, but I don't think that really extends to finding the best ways of trapping and eating the animals. Even amongst the meat eaters, I'd imagine that the percentage of people interested in eating squirrels/other wildlife animals are probably in the minority.

Let's try and keep the topics more on wildlife and the environment, and less on hunting, taxidermy, recipes etc.

Stuart

[Pat]

Originally Posted by StuartDH

Personally, I think Pat has got a good point. I eat meat, but I wouldn't flaunt it in front of vegetarians, whether they're in the minority or not. It's not about being PC, it's just a basic courtesy. We're all free to pick our noses, but that doesn't mean we want to read about other people doing it.

Most people use the forum as a focus on appreciating wildlife, but I don't think that really extends to finding the best ways of trapping and eating the animals. Even amongst the meat eaters, I'd imagine that the percentage of people interested in eating squirrels/other wildlife animals are probably in the minority.

Let's try and keep the topics more on wildlife and the environment, and less on hunting, taxidermy, recipes etc.

Stuart

Thankyou Stuart. I didn't want to cause any bad feelings but I didn't really want to read about someone slicing off a kangaroo's backside on a squirrel thread Nightshade said I shouldn't read the threads if I found them offensive but I subscribed to this one because I was interested in squirrels ( not stewed ones ) As you say Stuart, lets keep the topics on wildlife and the environment. No hard feelings Nightshade

[Turtletagger]

Oh boy, I love the way this thread is going. Freedom of speach is in the balance. It's great to see that we can write, within reason, our experiances and thoughts and then be criticised by the sensative members. However I think the use of the smilies would help to lessen the upsetting nature of the words we write
I wonder Pat weather what you would do if you were in a situation of survival and you only had a rotting carcase to keep you alive. I cannot see you sitting there slowly dying and not eat that carcase. You would have to be suicidal not to do so.
If you and I Pat were lost at sea in an open boat, or survived a plain crash high on a mountain, like those people did in the Andies, and you died then I would, without hesitation slice off a steak from your rump to survive.
To get back to the Squirrel question, and quite frankly I think we have exhausted the subject, I think we just have to find a way to control the population. How about every house setting a humane trap in their garden and when a Squirrel is caught, a specialist, in pay by the council comes and collects it.

[StuartDH]

Ok, I've split the thread and given it a suitable title so anyone can tell straight away what the subject is, as the previous thread had drifted off topic.

Turtletagger, I appreciate what you're saying about free speech, but we also need to protect our interests as a forum that's here to talk about wildlife. We don't really want to become a forum that'll become synonymous with finding the best ways to hunt and cook wild animals.

However, it's still a wildlife topic to some extent and eating shellfish, fish etc probably wouldn't create as much attention, but maybe these more 'sensitive' topics should go in their own forum for members only?

To be honest, one of the biggest problems with these types of threads is that they tend to drift, get a little out of hand (like going on to cannibalism) and therefore need us to keep almost constant watch over them.

For the record, I've had to eat quite a few furry animals in the past, but I appreciate that not everyone wants to hear about it.

[Pat]

Originally Posted by StuartDH

Ok, I've split the thread and given it a suitable title so anyone can tell straight away what the subject is, as the previous thread had drifted off topic.

Turtletagger, I appreciate what you're saying about free speech, but we also need to protect our interests as a forum that's here to talk about wildlife. We don't really want to become a forum that'll become synonymous with finding the best ways to hunt and cook wild animals.

However, it's still a wildlife topic to some extent and eating shellfish, fish etc probably wouldn't create as much attention, but maybe these more 'sensitive' topics should go in their own forum for members only?

To be honest, one of the biggest problems with these types of threads is that they tend to drift, get a little out of hand (like going on to cannibalism) and therefore need us to keep almost constant watch over them. For the record, I've had to eat quite a few furry animals in the past, but I appreciate that not everyone wants to hear about it.

Well said Stuart

[nightshade]

Hi Pat, I think I owe you this,but the roadkill thread sends out conflicting signals
best regards nightshade
(it is an olive branch)

[Pat]

Originally Posted by nightshade

Hi Pat, I think I owe you this,but the roadkill thread sends out conflicting signals
best regards nightshade
(it is an olive branch)

Received with thanks

[apsara]

By chance I recently spent some serious effort researching hunting and eating of grey squirrels in the USA. Yes, squirrels are regularly eaten. But - a serious 'but' - between 3 and 11 squirrel hunters have died of CJD, a kind of mad cow disease. Difficult to prove but there is a strong suspicion that the brain of the squirrel, a delicacy apparently, was the infecting agent. You can find more on this in several web sites, by doing a search in Google or whatever.

Also, one hunter drowned when he fell out of his boat while shooting, which may comfort the vegetarians!

Happy safe, brain-free, eating!

[Stuart]

I used to shoot the little devils because they eat our garden produce, and take eggs, young birds, I did'nt eat them but I cut them up for our six cats and they liked them.

[Turtletagger]

Hi again. Well done Stuart for your diplomacy. I wish I could also find a good picture of an olive branch. Sorry for my mischievious nature, just cannot help myself. As for the Squirrels! well they're here to stay and I suppose we might be thankfull to them as they could be considered a store of protien for the future, when our society collapses. See, Im'e a pessamistic survivalist as well as mischievious When I was a youngster there was a bloke who used to come around the fields and hunt for the Moles, no one comes around any more and the Moles are in abundance. Do you think the Councils should re-invent a Mole and Squirrel Catcher. I think I had better end my writing on this subject. I must have eaten too many Squirrel brains.

[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