The Last Stand of the English Red Squirrel, and my Red Squirrel Quest.... (1 Viewer)

[Farnboro John]

It appears what we need is the new attitude being pioneered by Norfolk gamekeepers (as shown on Marco Pierre White's programme last night) - mind you Marco didn't seem impressed with the taste of Squirrel pie!

John

 

[breffni]

Don't have much time again (ho hum) but I'll just say this: I believe conservation should be primarily focused on removing human influences on the natural world. Invasive species are an example of this, and so should be removed.

We're an invasive species ourselves Colonel, and then in terms of human influence what about wheat, barley, cattle, sheep, sitka spruce, italian rye grass, cats, dogs etc. What about all those exotic plants growing in peoples gardens? And where are the wild boar, wolves, bears, beavers etc? The British countryside is the product of thousands of years of human activity. The grey squirrel is just one more human addition.

 

[breffni]

It appears what we need is the new attitude being pioneered by Norfolk gamekeepers (as shown on Marco Pierre White's programme last night) - mind you Marco didn't seem impressed with the taste of Squirrel pie!

There you go Colonel - look at the benefits - if you like a bit of game, you can't beat squirrel! And I'd say they make an interesting challenge to shoot - I guess you would need a small calibre?

 

[ColonelBlimp]

The grey squirrel is just one more human addition.

Indeed, and why not start on helping native biodiversity by fighting against its degradation? We have to start somewhere, and the elimination of the grey would be an admirable start. If we go by the defeatist attitude, why do we bother with conservation at all, if humanity is doing such damage?

I guess you would need a small calibre?

.22 would do the job admirably I think...

 

[Martin Thomas]

<snip> if you like a bit of game, you can't beat squirrel! <snip> QUOTE]

Most people seem to agree that grey squirrel tastes like 'nutty chicken'. I've even got a couple of recipes from the turn of the century for red squirrel dishes and an enterprising hotel owner in the south Lake District was offering grey squirrel on the menu recently with no shortage of takers.

Maybe Gordon Brown would be happy if we poor people had grey squirrels in our diet so as to leave plenty of 'proper' food for the better off? Waste not, want not!

:eat:

 

[Farnboro John]

There you go Colonel - look at the benefits - if you like a bit of game, you can't beat squirrel! And I'd say they make an interesting challenge to shoot - I guess you would need a small calibre?

The guys on the programme were using shotguns, probably a better idea with all the branches around.

One actually refused to emerge from its drey (despite poking with long poles) till Marco put a round through the structure. Apparently its still unsporting to shoot them unless they are running.

John

 

[breffni]

The guys on the programme were using shotguns, probably a better idea with all the branches around.

One actually refused to emerge from its drey (despite poking with long poles) till Marco put a round through the structure. Apparently its still unsporting to shoot them unless they are running.

John

I have always thought that the hunting community and other folks with an interest in conservation should have sufficinet common cause to be able to work together. Here is a piece about an old squirrel hunter bemoaning the decline of the sport in the US http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/...schara_ron&page=g_col_schara_squirrels_020913 (they aim for a headshot with a .22 and dont shoot into dreys). I remember eating a squirrel gumbo in new orleans a few years ago - cant remember what it tasted like but it certainly hit the spot at the time!

The last stand of the red squirrel in England is, alas, a foregone conclusion, and it aint no Alamo. In Mississippi alone they still shoot 2.5 million grey squirrels a year, an economic value of 25 million. In times past a shoot of 25 million was sustainable. I would suggest a code on hunting grey squirrels similar to that on hunting pheasant, another introduced species...certainly the idea of a national bounty is both useless and egregious and the kind of attitudes expressed here are unhelpful at best: http://www.birdforum.net/archive/index.php/t-32035.html "We were going to launch this cull next year but there has been such enthusiasm for the magpie cull that we brought it forward. We won't stop until the only grey squirrel left in Britain is a stuffed one in a glass case." - yeah right! The grey squirrel is here to stay - might as well get used to it!

 

[chris butterworth]

Most people seem to agree that grey squirrel tastes like 'nutty chicken'. I've even got a couple of recipes from the turn of the century for red squirrel dishes and an enterprising hotel owner in the south Lake District was offering grey squirrel on the menu recently with no shortage of takers.

If you've ever tried to skin a Grey Squirrel, tasty as they are, all thoughts of food for the masses would be quickly forgotten. Taking the skin off is roughly akin to getting the knickers off your first girlfriend!!!!:C

 

[Martin Thomas]

<snip>
Taking the skin off is roughly akin to getting the knickers off your first girlfriend!!!!:C

I had someone do it for me so can't possibly comment!

 

[ikw101]

For those who missed it:

From the Scotsman

Invading grey squirrels face mass cull in drive to save native reds

Published Date: 19 July 2008
By Jenny Haworth
Environment Correspondent

THE battlelines have been drawn and the war is about to start to protect one of Scotland's most threatened native animals – the red squirrel.
Armed with traps and air rifles, a team of nine squirrel protection officers will set to work in the Borders, supported, they hope, by members of the public.

Their aim will be to kill every grey squirrel in the south of Scotland within two years, to stop the animals spreading further north.

Grey squirrels, introduced from the United States, carry a pox deadly to the smaller native reds.

Next month, a telephone hotline will be set up as part of the Red Squirrels in South Scotland initiative, for the public to call when they spot a grey. Squirrel protection officers will deliver traps to gardens, remove grey squirrels caught and shoot them.

Hundreds of traps will also be set out in forests across southern Scotland.

The scheme has the backing of some of the biggest landowners in the region, including the Duke of Buccleuch.

It mirrors a similar project in Northumberland, which has seen more than 18,000 grey squirrels killed in the past 18 months.

Richard Williamson, of Red Squirrels in South Scotland, said: "We have reached crisis point in the south with the spread of squirrel pox, and the squirrel conservation groups decided there was a need to roll up our sleeves and deal with the causes. We have got a huge bank of goodwill in south Scotland and we want to galvanise that."

He added: "The red squirrel is an iconic species for Scotland, which is now one of the last strongholds in the UK.

"There's almost a moral obligation on the Scots to manage that iconic species for the nation."

But Ross Minnet, campaigns director for Advocates for Animals, said he was absolutely against killing grey squirrels.

"We think it's morally wrong to kill one species of squirrel for even the potential benefit of another species of squirrel," he said.

He said he did not think killing greys would save reds but, instead, the possibility of putting them on islands where they would be safe from infection should be explored.

"Grey squirrels are here to stay," he said. "All that killing them is doing is attempting to postpone the inevitable."

He added that grey squirrels have been demonised. "There is this image that the greys are 6ft tall and have huge teeth and go around ravaging the red squirrels," he said.

IN NUMBERS

10
Number of red squirrels killed by squirrel pox in Scotland.

5 million
Estimated number of grey squirrels in the UK.

120,000
Likely UK red squirrel numbers.

64
Percentage of people in a European Squirrel Initiative survey who supported use of a non-lethal control method to remove all grey squirrels from the UK.

75
Percentage of the UK's red squirrels that live in Scotland.

15
Number of days it takes a red squirrel with pox to die.

 

[Farnboro John]

I had someone do it for me so can't possibly comment!

Which?:eek!:

John

 

[Martin Thomas]

That would be telling!

 

[breffni]

They say that doing it in the field with the body warm makes it a lot easier...

 

[breffni]

THE battlelines have been drawn and the war is about to start to protect one of Scotland's most threatened native animals – the red squirrel.
Armed with traps and air rifles, a team of nine squirrel protection officers will set to work in the Borders, supported, they hope, by members of the public.
[/I]

Aye laddie - nine men strong and true will protect fair scotland from the maurading rapacious southern invaders -eat your heart out braveheart! (of course this has been tried before...)

 

[Martin Thomas]

9 shooters for a 70 mile border. Hmmm... Hope they've got good eyesight whilst perched on Hadrian's wall. The Romans struggled with 10,000 armed soldiers.

 

[Farnboro John]

9 shooters for a 70 mile border. Hmmm... Hope they've got good eyesight whilst perched on Hadrian's wall. The Romans struggled with 10,000 armed soldiers.

The Romans didn't put traplines out for Picts (as far as my researches show): nevertheless they not only prevented incursions for gaps of up to thirty years at a time but also repulsed those that did occur.

And tree rats don't shoot back.

John

 

[maxfoto2003]

Red Squirrels in Abernethy Forest

Hi Guys,

I get the feeling that I stumble upon a discussion about genetics and the grey squirrel, but when I read the first posts (from way back) I think that I can post afterall.

I am very fond of red squirrels and during my last visit to the UK and Scotland I intended to take some good shots. That was not easy after all.

Finally I had 1 lucky day at Abernethy forest in Scotland. On that day I spotted 5 red squirrels and could capture one. When I returned a couple of days later, I did not see any squirrel at all.

However I felt very lucky to see them over there.

 

[Martin Thomas]

The Romans didn't put traplines out for Picts (as far as my researches show): nevertheless they not only prevented incursions for gaps of up to thirty years at a time but also repulsed those that did occur.

And tree rats don't shoot back.

John

Very true although the wall also had a big ditch (trap) in front of it but even then the protectors ultimately abandon their quest!

Good job the greys don't have guns. There's a big enough problem with humans having them.

 

[breffni]

Hi Guys,

I get the feeling that I stumble upon a discussion about genetics and the grey squirrel, but when I read the first posts (from way back) I think that I can post afterall.

You're quite right - the thread is about increasingly rare red squirrel sightings in England. The genetics discussion is about the fact that all the red squirrels in England were introduced from the continent and native British red squirrell, S. v. leucourus, is probably extinct in England.

Beautiful photo!

 

[maxfoto2003]

You're quite right - the thread is about increasingly rare red squirrel sightings in England. The genetics discussion is about the fact that all the red squirrels in England were introduced from the continent and native British red squirrell, S. v. leucourus, is probably extinct in England.

Beautiful photo!

Well... anyway good that I posted an image about this lovely species again to keep the discussion going

Thanks for your comment.