Our local squirrels are not much larger than chipmunks here. I ate fried squirrel once.....my Mother-in-law (from the Ozarks) insisted. I had a problem with it.
On the other hand, we have very plentiful wild turkeys (eight in my freezer right now) and lots of venison. Also have a very good friend with a buffalo ranch. I’ve really acquired a taste for the buffalo. We now prefer it over beef. And, it is much better for you. Very little cholesterol.
We have a friend who is a buffalo rancher. Yes, the meat is excellent, as is venison. My squirrels are fairly large, lots of oak trees around here. Love wild turkey, love the catfish from the 1/2 acre pond.
I’m convinced that our personal preferences are less important than, as you point out, stocking up on what we like, from the bounty around us.
I think our taste buds are not in our mouth, but in our minds.
During WW2, as I remember it, we did not need the ration stamps for horse meat and I do remember buying it at the little market in Otay, Calif., more than likely killed and dressed in the back yard or in Tijuana, which is 5 miles south.
I had friends that preferred to eat Burro meat, over beef and did so, bought it young, raised and butchered it.
Not many deer or wild turkey here, but lots of burros in the Black Mountains, 25 miles away.