Posted on 01/31/2013 12:19:08 PM PST by bigtoona
An upcoming squirrel hunt fundraiser for Orleans County's Holley Fire Department is attracting attention from animal lovers all over the world.
And not in a good way.
There are online petitions circulating against it, a United Kingdom newspaper wrote about it and a psychologist even blogged about it for Psychology Today, calling the fundraiser "pure barbarism"; There's even a Facebook page against it that had more than 200 "likes" Wednesday evening.
But organizers of the squirrel hunt say critics have their upcoming competition all wrong, and are asking those who object to "respect the freedoms and rights of those who choose to participate and support this event."
The department's 7th Annual Hazzard County Squirrel Slam is slated to run Feb. 16. While the event's name is a little tongue-in-cheek - it's named for the fictional rural Georgia county that served as home to Bo and Luke Duke in the early 1980s CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard - the event itself is deadly serious. At least for the squirrels.
For a $10 per-person fee, two-person teams will compete in various age groups in an effort to bag the heaviest squirrel. Prizes range from $50 to $200.
There are also planned raffles for a variety of rifles and shotguns.
Money raised by the event is traditionally used to help offset the cost of equipment such as hoses and turnout gear for the all-volunteer fire department, said Fire Chief Pete Hendrickson.
Hendrickson said that despite the outcry, there's no plan to cancel the event. Indeed, he said, almost all 700 available tickets for the hunt have been sold. "We've been taking emails and phone calls - I spent all day (at the firehouse) on Sunday, my day off, to field phone calls from people across the continent in regards to their concerns," he said. "But we have talked as a board, and there's two sides to every story, and at this point there are very few local people who are upset."
Julie Gallagher, who runs the website squirrelplanet.org from her home in Austin, Texas, is upset by the hunt.
A squirrel lover who learned about the squirrel slam via social media, Gallagher started a change.org petition that's gathered nearly 6,000 signatures. Calling the hunt, "pointless killing," Gallagher noted that it's possible some of the heaviest squirrels out and about this time of year could be momma squirrels. "Giving prizes for the heaviest, the mommas will be the heaviest, and they'll be leaving orphan babies in the nests and to leave baby squirrels to starve is cruel and heartless."
Psychologist Gay Bradshaw, executive director of The Kerulos Center, an Oregon nonprofit that researches animal trauma and recovery and seeks to promote trans-species communication, wrote about the hunt for Psychology Today.
In her blog post, she noted that the Holley event is open to hunters age 12 and older and decried the event's promotion of killing and violence by children. "What clicked about this event was the cycle of violence and encouraging children to harm and kill for money," she said. "To kill something is a very profound act."
Wednesday afternoon, officials with the Humane Society of Greater Rochester weighed in, asking the fire department to reconsider its stance. "It is our position that events such as the Squirrel Slam display insensitivity to the suffering of animals and condone animal abuse as an acceptable form of entertainment," said Alice Calabrese, Humane Society president in a letter to the fire department. "Many of our supporters are equally as incredulous that such an event is being promoted in our community."
Still, Hendrickson said the event is being misunderstood. He said it abides by all state hunting laws, and noted that it's gray squirrel season here through Feb. 28 and red squirrel season year-round. "There's a lot of people locally that spend time with their families and come do this hunt," he said. "They come down and have a good time. It's like a fishing derby, and the only difference is it's with squirrels." And, he said, not a year has gone by where any of the squirrels went to waste. "We usually have people arguing over taking them for food," he said. "Some people take their game home and some leave it here for others to take. And, I've had people argue over the pelts too."
That is how we always ate them (BBQ), unless dumped in a stew with some venison.
Is there an open season on them? Have you ever hunted them?
he Feral Hog in Texas
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/nuisance/feral_hogs/
Although feral hogs are not classified as game animals, a hunting license is required to hunt them.
Trapping is a common method utilized by sportsmen and landowners. Live trapping enables the individual to harvest the animal, fatten it up, or sell it.
There's nothing wrong with that, I've done it myself. At least it sounds like you've had a change of heart........
Let me add to that:
Exceptions:
a hunting license is not required to hunt the following:
depredating feral hogs, if a landowner (resident or non-resident) or landowner’s agent or lessee is taking feral hogs causing depredation on the landowner’s land.
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/cs_bk_k0700_284_2012_2013.pdf
Very poular in Hawaii. They trap 'em, fatten 'em, and sell them to resorts for Luau.
Destructive bastards, will tear up your yard something fierce. The little babies are cute, look like great eating, but cannot shoot them inside town limits......
Oh no, they’re not the only animals avaiable.
There are dogs, cats, rats, goldfish, gerbils, etc.
‘first time I ate stew and flossed at same time”
Either someone did a poor job of cleaning or he had a very swiftly receding hairline.
What's a good caliber rifle to shoot them? I've got a nice BN Mauser, .30-06, that I'm thinking of selling and buying a quality scoped .223.
I’ll bet you think meat comes from trees.........
Squirrel = Bushy tailed tree rat.
Can’t tell you how many roof vents garbage cans destroyed and other damage these guys have done to my house.
Ya they are cute, and even I sometimes fall for it. but they are pests and varmints no different than a mouse in the kitchen cabinet.
Squirrels are the best flavored when they eat nuts rich in tasty oils. By harvesting these squirrels, the trees with the tasty oil in their mast will be helped to survive the merciless onslaught of these furry-tailed rats.
Squirrels are a very ‘Green’ protein source, are rarely obese, contain slightly more than an individual serving of plant-fed protein, and are “a renewable resource!”
The best part is that squirrels are really FUN to shoot!
So, save a Cow and shoot, shoot, shoot them squirrels!
Muny...."I've killed about every thing that walks or crawls,...and I here to kill you, Little Bill." Clint Eastwood as Will Muny to Little Bill.
I agree with you.
I have not read beyond your comment (#2) but I can already see what lies ahead: yahoos calling them "rats with wings" and the like. Oh well, what else is new?
It’s fairly interchangeable with rabbit as far as recipes go, and the large recipe sites have entries for them.
Oops! I don’t know how I came up with “rats with wings.” I meant “rats with furry tails.” That’s the usual description I see.
You obviously havent been prairie dog hunting. You get “bonus points” on the number of backflips you can get the corpse to do in the air as the high velocity round makes contact. LOTS of fun! Wheeee!!!!
Oops! I don’t know how I came up with “rats with wings”
==
Pigeons
.
Please kill as many as you can.
Are you expected to clean and eat them as one would with a deer?
Some do.
Or can they be treated like rats and left where they're killed?
Some do.
Or better yet, can the hogs shot be taken to any "drop zone" that would be willing to process them for food?
There is commercial processors but I think you need to take them live. That is the trappers method.
What's a good caliber rifle to shoot them? I've got a nice BN Mauser, .30-06, that I'm thinking of selling and buying a quality scoped .223.
I would use the 30-06, but mostly because that is what I have.
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