Shoot it or watch it??????

[Squidders]

Tough choice for me...

Squirrels fill a niche... there are hardly any red one about here, we kill all the greys... leaving... errr... none? is none better than greys?

grey or red does this make us racist? I mean, they're still cute and tasty.

 

[Dougster]

Where's the gunb, and how come that little blighter ain't dead yet?

Tree rats......

 

[firecrest]

there is a time and a place for both.
One came up to me in the park the other day, Id feel awful killing something so trusting, if it were running away Id find it easier to shoot. (Not that actually own a gun or have shot anything!)

 

[British Red]

I'll shoot the vermin every chance I get.

But then I would like to see native species preserved.

Red

 

[bushtuckerman]

grey or red does this make us racist?

Yes. Racist and tribalist (American vs English).

 

[Dougster]

Evidence points to the Reds re-establishing themselves where greys are ousted.

Bang bang bang.

 

[Squidders]

red ones are tree rats too, I'd like to blast those mothers!

damn them and their evil doings.

 

[pentrekeeper]

Below is a grey helping himself to corn in a pheasant feeder (a 45gall drum), problem is when they climb in the top they can not get out. So after I give him a right telling off I lower the bin to let him out and usually he does not do it again.

I enjoy watching them and generally leave them alone, but once a year I go through the estate from one end to the other destroying the dreys and killing every one I can.
Sounds bad but every year their population recovers, and if I did not cull them I think I might get overrun with the little blighters.

 

[elevenses]

Personally I do believe you should have a 3rd option of “both”

I think greys should be managed. As with all nature I enjoy watching it but as with other tasty animals I do enjoy eating them as well

 

[WoodWildling]

shoot it then eat it. we i was younger we used to remove the tails from any we shot and boil them to clean them of bugs etc... Then we used to stitch them round the inside of hoods to keep our ears warm!! The neighbours thought we were odd, in fact they still do

Wild

 

[firecrest]

I think its wishful thinking to say reds establish themselves where greys are removed. presumably this refers to red-appropriate habitat only, such as conifer forests? unless we do something about preserving and managing habitat then the greys are only half the problem.

 

[Squidders]

I also think it's arrogant of us to try and dictate what lives where and how. Sure, we can do our bit to ease our impact one way or the other but actively killing one species that is better adapted in nature than another is nuts (pun intended).

It's not like it's an even match in nature but I guess we love an underdog.

I hope we don't later need super strong squirrels in the future when we've killed them off.

 

[WoodWildling]

hmm fair point Squidders. All we would be doing is trying to reverse and undo evolution. Typically, more dominant creatures replce less. So we would ultimately upset the balance and who knows what would happen then?

 

[Squidders]

Yes... I admit, my observation was completely one sided and life/nature never is... I always wonder though, if in our desire to have zero impact, we have one that's worse.

I'm still a firm believer in me being part of nature, I am a creature after all... so if I do something, that is still part of nature too.

 

[WoodWildling]

I think it boils down to your moral conscience - do we try to reassert a 'balance' (going against nature) or do we just let evolution continue naturally, which could mean the eradication of the reds in favour of the stronger greys?

 

[bushtuckerman]

I also think it's arrogant of us to try and dictate what lives where and how. Sure, we can do our bit to ease our impact one way or the other but actively killing one species that is better adapted in nature than another is nuts (pun intended).

It's not like it's an even match in nature but I guess we love an underdog.

I hope we don't later need super strong squirrels in the future when we've killed them off.

I think you hit the head of that nail I was trying to find, especially with the comment on our desire to defend the underdog (maybe it is natural after all...)

 

[hog]

Tastes like...............chicken, surprise, surprise.

 

[Mike Ameling]

We need a third option in this poll.

Shoot it, then Watch it Cook.


But then, I've got red and gray ... tree rats ... all over the place here. Although the grays are bigger and more aggressive than the reds - and will drive the reds out if given a chance.

And then there are those White squirrels up in southern Minnesota - not albinos, but a natural mutation that now has a sustainable population (and State protection from any hunting/trapping, or even running one over with a vehicle).

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

p.s. As long as man has walked this Earth, he has modified his environment. So what is a "natural" environment? And who would/should decide what is "natural"? Anybody pushing hard that THEY are the best ones who to decide should under no circumstances EVER be given that chance!

 

[Dana Hawkeye]

I also think it's arrogant of us to try and dictate what lives where and how. Sure, we can do our bit to ease our impact one way or the other but actively killing one species that is better adapted in nature than another is nuts (pun intended).

It's not like it's an even match in nature but I guess we love an underdog.

I hope we don't later need super strong squirrels in the future when we've killed them off.

Well where I live, they would either trap it or shoot it. It has even been known for the Car Ferry to be turned around back to the mainland when a suspected Grey Squirrel is a aboard. The Isle of Wight is REDS only.

 

[John Fenna]

The trouble is that the grey was introduced to the UK by humans, not nature - so it is our fault that the Greys are able to persecute the Reds, and by extension, our duty to redress the balance as much as possible.
They realy are quite tasty as well.
And the little beggars stole my hazel nut crop....