Shoot it or watch it??????
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woodspirits
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Greys are shot instantly on sight here, no mercy.
Reds are just a dream, would love to see them again
Reds are just a dream, would love to see them again
Can't see anyone else at my house eating tree-rat, so watch for me.
Unless, as has previously happened, they are getting into my loft chewing stuff - once they get in, they don't stop trying to get back in, whether you block the holes with wood, bundled wire or expanding foam.
In that instance, it's the .22 headache pill.
EDIT They are also great fun for the cats to chase...
Unless, as has previously happened, they are getting into my loft chewing stuff - once they get in, they don't stop trying to get back in, whether you block the holes with wood, bundled wire or expanding foam.
In that instance, it's the .22 headache pill.
EDIT They are also great fun for the cats to chase...
D
Deleted member 7976
Guest
Shoot shoot shoot
The damage they can do through bark stripping if the numbers get high enough is horrendous. I seem to recall hearing somewhere in the New Forest they have stopped trying to grow Beech trees as it's become futile with the squirrel population.
The damage they can do through bark stripping if the numbers get high enough is horrendous. I seem to recall hearing somewhere in the New Forest they have stopped trying to grow Beech trees as it's become futile with the squirrel population.
Watch it. But only because I'm a rotten shot. Once I get better, my answer will change, but I'm new to shooting things.
In Britain, Abbe, reds are both a threatened and protected species, with greys invasive, aggressive and carriers of disease fatal to our reds, which are becoming less numerous year on year.
As for the greys, they're no cuddly friends of mine. Kill em all!
SHOOOOOOOT!!!! Obviously only the greys, I was lucky enough to see a fair few Reds growing up, wish there were more.
Dave
Dave
They are here to stay, and i enjoy watching them as much as i enjoy eating them. However, i am convinced they should be controlled especially if they're existence is at the expense of the red..
I had a couple of them nesting my loft recently, they caused quite a bit of damage; so I trapped them and then released them into an urban park. I now understand that what i did was illegal. Live & learn eh.
I considered eating them, but they had obviously been munching on the loft insulation; plus my misses would have given me hell!!.
I had a couple of them nesting my loft recently, they caused quite a bit of damage; so I trapped them and then released them into an urban park. I now understand that what i did was illegal. Live & learn eh.
I considered eating them, but they had obviously been munching on the loft insulation; plus my misses would have given me hell!!.
I would shoot it, mainly due to it's predation of young chicks and bird eggs. I can also understand why forrestry management would like to see the back of the grey.
The greys vs reds in England is I believe a forgone conclussion!
The softer side of me still likes to see greys in the garden doing their 'Mission impossible'
It is good to see a healthy debate like this being conducted in a seville manner, without a complete breakdown from both sides.
The greys vs reds in England is I believe a forgone conclussion!
The softer side of me still likes to see greys in the garden doing their 'Mission impossible'
It is good to see a healthy debate like this being conducted in a seville manner, without a complete breakdown from both sides.
no joke, one of these little blighters nearly offed a friend of mine... he was trying to be humane and capture the one that had been destroying the strawberries in his garden. he rigged a net and caught it, then went to got and get it out and it bit him, he didn't think anything of it until he collapsed 2 days later and got rushed into hospital with septicaemia!!
I kill only for food. And even then only when I need to. If I can carry enough food to last the the trip then I do so.
No criticism of those who like hunting - it's just my personal choice.
No criticism of those who like hunting - it's just my personal choice.
I'd watch it ...
... through a 4.5 - 14 x 40 Leupold scope for a couple of seconds before pulling the trigger.
If culling preserves our remaining reds then I'm all for culling, just as I support the efforts of those who try and trap large numbers of the invading American Signal crayfish.
Doing nothing is no way of admitting that we made a mistake at some point and it is the very worst form of apathy when discussing the ongoing preservation of our native species.
I consider myself very lucky to live in an area that still enjoys a healthy population of Red squirrels, and I take every opportunity to selectively reduce the greys I spot when out and about. Perhaps my efforts make absolutely no difference, or perhaps they do. I like to think that if others are doing what I am then, collectively, we must be having a positive effect, even in small, localised areas.
A fringe benefit is that squirrel tastes delicious so the greys I shoot are never wasted...
... through a 4.5 - 14 x 40 Leupold scope for a couple of seconds before pulling the trigger.
If culling preserves our remaining reds then I'm all for culling, just as I support the efforts of those who try and trap large numbers of the invading American Signal crayfish.
Doing nothing is no way of admitting that we made a mistake at some point and it is the very worst form of apathy when discussing the ongoing preservation of our native species.
I consider myself very lucky to live in an area that still enjoys a healthy population of Red squirrels, and I take every opportunity to selectively reduce the greys I spot when out and about. Perhaps my efforts make absolutely no difference, or perhaps they do. I like to think that if others are doing what I am then, collectively, we must be having a positive effect, even in small, localised areas.
A fringe benefit is that squirrel tastes delicious so the greys I shoot are never wasted...
I hate the flipping things, i do bonsai and these furry little horrors dig in to the dishes and uproot the trees, i've had three die now due to being out of the dish all day long (i work 12 hours regularly), also, i know two people that have had serious damage in their roofspace due to Squizzers 
I've shot plenty in the past but if the wife found out, i would be wearing the rifle as a scarfe- or worse still, as a suppository :yikes:
They dissappeared for a couple of years after i culled a few but they're back now :togo:
John
I've shot plenty in the past but if the wife found out, i would be wearing the rifle as a scarfe- or worse still, as a suppository :yikes:
They dissappeared for a couple of years after i culled a few but they're back now :togo:
John
Save the fairytales for church pal. We are trying to have a sensible discussion here.
I'm with the "kill only for food in a survival situation" group. Just personal preference of course.
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Grey squirrels are a native species here in North America (all of the continent) and as such are part of our eco-sysytem. In England however they are what we would call an "invasive" species. Any invasive species will wreak havok on your natural environment. Probably much deeper damage than the complaints I usually read about them supplanting your native Red Squirrel and tearing up your gardens. We have enough invasive species here as well to see the damage: wild pigs, wild horses (oddly wild horses have become almost an icon though because of their association with the west even though they aren't native and their hooves destroy the range) and now exotic species such as pythons and boas. The saddist part is that even if hunting Grey Squirrels becomes popular there, it won't have much effect. They are prolific breeders and will survive any amount of hunting pressure as long there is an adequate food supply (acorn crop). They are an extremely poplular small game animal here, usually being the first game a young boy or girl learns to hunt with his/her Dad. Most states have a harvest limit of anywhere from 8 to 16 squirrels per hunter per day with no season limit (the season varies by state because of differing regional climates but usually lasts most of the Fall and Winter). Multiply that times a few million hunters annually and that's an aweful lot of hunting pressure and yet they continue to thrive. However even if you cain't eliminate them through hunting remember two things: 1) They are delicious! 2) For those of you who have objections to the idea of hunting, ask yourself, "What's crueler & more barbaric? A hunter stalking wild game or a livestock farmer killing animals that trust him?"
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