euthanizing squirrels?

[hermanntrude]

I am a member of another forum, which is specifically about wildlife, and particularly about wildlife in a park near calgary. I joined their numbers because their powers of bird-identification are formidable and i needed help identifying some of the new species.

Anyway recently a very small debate sprung up which I feel might interest you guys.

Basically the society that runs the park is concerned because eastern grey squirrels are taking over the area and putting the local red squirrels in danger. Their view is that the eastern grey squirrels were "never meant to be in the park" and therefore their numbers should be controlled. They posted a short essay on how this should be done, stating that the least cruel thing is to trap them and take them to vets but this costs too much and so the best method is to trap them and drown them.

I have taken up a stance against this, since I feel that even if these squirrels were NOT "meant" to be in the park, the cruelty involved in killing the greys cannot be justified.

 

[missile]

Of course,they should not be killed. All life is precious and nature dictates what can survive in an area. We have both varieties in our backyard here and they seem to be getting along okay:smile:

 

[Tonington]

Yah, that was one of the first things I noticed when I was at STU in Fredericton, great big grey squirrels. The size of a cat!

Is the grey squirrel naturally moving westward, or is this another example of introduced alien species?

 

[DaSleeper]

My own guess would be following food supplies, the reason most animals migrate..........

 

[eh1eh]

stating that the least cruel thing is to trap them and take them to vets but this costs too much and so the best method is to trap them and drown them.

This is what my grandmother does. The overrun her property to a ridiculous level. If you don't want your reds to suffer then a controled cull would be the answer. Drowning is a peaceful way to go I've heard.

 

[triedit]

Sounds reasonable to me. Protection of a native species should be the focus. Is it unreasonable to offer a hunt? Some people like to hunt squirrels.

I don't buy into the "animals have a soul" theories nor do I think that it is improper to try to correct a balance we as humans imbalanced.

 

[hermanntrude]

Yah, that was one of the first things I noticed when I was at STU in Fredericton, great big grey squirrels. The size of a cat!

Is the grey squirrel naturally moving westward, or is this another example of introduced alien species?

they're introduced. That's their argument against their continued existance... that they weren't "meant to be" there so should be destroyed. They also pull out non-indigenous weeds all year and want to kill off house-sparrows but can't figure out a good way to do it

 

[karrie]

i agree with culls personally. We've done so much to imbalance their environment that sometimes it's the only humane way to manage population so that they aren't starving to death or dying of diseases due to overcrowding. The need occurs with so many species when human sprawl becomes a problem. The mule deer where I used to live were a prime example. They were dying because they were so crowded, and lack of food was driving them into fields and yard where the food supply was not natural. To see deer tearing open garbage cans to eat was phenomenal, and drove home the issue.

A park environment is much the same. It's not entirely natural. It's a confined space, and maintaining balance in it can be a huge challenge, especially when humans muck it up with alien species.

I'd personally suggest that drowning is a harsh way to do it. Not to sound cruel, but there are much faster ways to kill an animal, but they are not as pleasant for the person carrying it out.

 

[hermanntrude]

one method mentioned is to put them in a sack and whack the sack against a wall, stunning the squirrels, which can then have their backs broken by hand.

I still dont like it. it seems that the end doesn't justify the means.

 

[DaSleeper]

BBQ Squirrel
Thanks to Todd Smith for sending in this recipe.



~ 4 squirrels, quartered
~ 3 tbsp salt
~ 2 tsp pepper
~ 1 tsp garlic powder
~ 1 tsp onion powder
~ your favorite dry rub
~ 15 charcoal briquets
~ 3 handfuls hickory chips
~ your favorite bbq sauce


In a large pot, boil the squirrel in water seasoned with the salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder for 1 hour or until tender.

In the meantime, soak the hickory chips in water. Light the charcoal and let them get white hot. Place them to one side of your grill.

Remove the squirrel from the water and pat dry. Coat with your favorite dry rub.

Add one handful of wood chips to the hot coals.

Place squirrel on grill across from the hot coals. Cover and smoke for 1 hour. Add a handful of wood chips every half hour.

Add last of the wood chips and baste squirrel with bbq sauce. Smoke for another half hour basting another 3 - 4 times.

Serve with mashed potatoes, sweet corn and buttermilk bisquits.

Enjoy!

http://www.backwoodsbound.com/zsquir.html

 

[hermanntrude]

there's a section in the "joy of cooking" which is about squirrel meat. There's even a diagram of how to skin them.

 

[lone wolf]

one method mentioned is to put them in a sack and whack the sack against a wall, stunning the squirrels, which can then have their backs broken by hand.

I still dont like it. it seems that the end doesn't justify the means.

Squirrel's good eating.... Shoot 'em and distribute them among the food banks. Whack the sack against the wall? Watch out for the animal rights crowd ... and the humane society

Wolf

 

[karrie]

one method mentioned is to put them in a sack and whack the sack against a wall, stunning the squirrels, which can then have their backs broken by hand.

I still dont like it. it seems that the end doesn't justify the means.

every farmer I've ever known has a 'favorite method' for ending the lives of little animals.

gassing always seemed to be the kindest to me. I've seen farmers intentionally gas their garages to kill whole litters of kittens.

Others I've known have done the simplest quickest thing, and just crushed their heads. Some beheaded with axes. Some bundled up in a sack and driven over.

Beating them against a wall in a sack seems ridiculously cruel, and breaking the healthy spine of a stunned animal, even that small, could still be horridly difficult.

 

[hermanntrude]

something that bothers me is that it's most likely that even if people drown them by the thousand, there'll still be an invasion of greys, the reds will still die out, and the only difference will be the thousands of squirrels who died with the firey sting of water entering their lungs

 

[lone wolf]

Once a species has established itself, generally there is no erradicating it. All you can do is try to control the population. Harvesting them for the meat seems like the most viable solution - considering that's what European squirrels and blackbirds were introduced for anyhow.

Wolf

 

[karrie]

something that bothers me is that it's most likely that even if people drown them by the thousand, there'll still be an invasion of greys, the reds will still die out, and the only difference will be the thousands of squirrels who died with the firey sting of water entering their lungs

generally speaking, any cull never gets rid of the population. But it prevents the slow horrific deaths of thousands from starvation and/or disease.

There's a reason we have people whose sole job is to monitor and manage the populations in these parks... because it's not easy to do.

 

[flutterby]

the whole province of alberta is overrun with easterners. calgary is spreading into the outlying areas at an alarming rate, displacing the folks in the smaller towns and ruining their way of life.


i wonder what the best method of culling newfies is, and do they make good eating too?

 

[hermanntrude]

the whole province of alberta is overrun with easterners. calgary is spreading into the outlying areas at an alarming rate, displacing the folks in the smaller towns and ruining their way of life.


i wonder what the best method of culling newfies is, and do they make good eating too?

I really hope that was a joke.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Seems to me that there is always problems when man gets involved in deciding how to manage an ecosystem. If things were always meant to stay as they were, we would still be scurrying around under rocks hiding from dinosours.

But the most humane way of culling, if desired, is hunting. The hunter will eat the hunted and the poor little squirrels existance will not be for naught. With other means, managing the piles of dead rotting squirrels may become a health issue.

 

[flutterby]

I really hope that was a joke.

how could it not be?