Great Britain: Grey squirrels on hit list (Massive cull of Greys planned to save Red Squirrels)

The Sun (U.K.) ^ | January 21, 2006 | MICHAEL LEA

[Stoat]

Grey squirrels on hit list

Doomed ... grey menace
Picture: REX
 

By MICHAEL LEATHE Government is planning the slaughter of thousands of grey squirrels — risking a backlash from wildlife lovers.

The aim is to protect the rapidly dwindling stock of native red squirrels.

Rangers will poison, trap and shoot the greys to create “buffer zones” in woods.

Contraceptives may even be added to their food to curtail breeding.

The plan — to be unveiled in detail tomorrow — will also stop damage to trees, because greys love stripping bark.

Greys are also seen as pests by bird lovers because they raid nests and feeding tables.

The grey was introduced from America in the 1800s, forcing the reds to the point of extinction.

There are now just 160,000 red squirrels compared with 2.5 million greys.

Environment minister Jim Knight said they are a “serious and growing threat”.

But families who feed them in parks and gardens love them.

[mewzilla]

I say if ya can't beat 'em, feed 'em!

Well, to be honest, I'd feed 'em anyway :)

[sweetliberty]

See post #58.

[sweetliberty]

"I say if ya can't beat 'em, feed 'em!"

I do both.

[osagebowman]

heh, well, wonder how long it will be until Brit-PETA files a lawsuit.

[HairOfTheDog]

You know what's interesting about this is I have both red and grey squirrels that I feed, and the red ones, while being half the size of the grey ones, are the more dominant and control the feeder stash. They run the grey ones off till they're done.

[dljordan]

"Yeah good luck. Delta Force tried taking a bunch of these guys out in the Dulce Base in Dulce, New Mexico back in the late 1970s and the aliens clobbered them."

We've got a better handle on the problem now.

[mewzilla]

The little furballs have finally figured out how to get birdseed out of one of our tube feeders. The other tube feeder is for finch food so the squirrels don't bug that. But it's a real hoot to watch the squirrel stretch out upside down and hang by his toes while he gets the seed. They usually only raid that, though, when the other feeders and the squirrel swing are empty. The squirrel swing is really cute. It looks just like a wooden people swing, but it's squirrel-sized. The sit on it and swing and eat. Awwww :)

[dljordan]

I heard a thump.....thump.....thump at my back door one morning. I opened the door and there was my cat throwing the body of this huge squirrel against the door. My little buddy was providing for his family. In gratitude I skinned and cooked the squirrel for him. Yum!

[HairOfTheDog]

The "Grey" in your picture has some red hair. Maybe it's a mixed breed?

It's not about the tinting... Red squirrels are quite different... in size and coloring.

This is a red squirrel. Darker color, no white, smaller size, and not nearly as bushy a tail.

[sweetliberty]

That sounds cute. I have quite a variety of feeders. The squirrels never bother the finch feeders and have seldom bothered the suet feeders. The rest have been fair game though, and they have destroyed a few supposedly "squirrel-proof" feeders. I have had success with a pole mounted platform feeder with a squirrel baffle on the bottom. That one is the most versatile. I also love my Yankee Flippers. They are heavy duty and durable, hold a lot, are not effected by the weather and are truly squirrel proof...at least until the little devils learn to use a drill or develop opposable thumbs. Oh, they will still try to get the bird seed occasionally, and then it is pure entertainment watching them trying to belly down the long tube only to be flung off by the swiftly rotating, weight-activated perch..

[mewzilla]

Oh, they will still try to get the bird seed occasionally, and then it is pure entertainment watching them trying to belly down the long tube only to be flung off by the swiftly rotating, weight-activated perch..

LOL. Mr. Mew would like that. He's not as fond of squirrels as I am.

[sweetliberty]

Oh, I enjoy them, too and would never do anything to hurt one, but there for awhile they were just infuriating. There were so many of them and bird seed is expensive. The Flipper is both entertaining and squirrel defeating, but doesn't hurt them. I got one of these recently for the squirrels, too.

.

[mewzilla]

Mr. Mew likes those, too. He calls him squirrel spinners :) He believes in makes the squirrels work for their dinner.

[mewzilla]

him=them

[ABN 505]

I believe they call them Chocolate squirrels down in Louisiania.

[Intolerant in NJ]

...here in the People's Republic of Washington...spent about fourteen months at Ft. Lewis some forty years ago - loved the area - great people and the atmosphere seemed to have a sort of wide-open, "last frontier" feel about it - sorry to hear it's deteriorated so much, just one more cell of the "left coast" apparently......

[Intolerant in NJ]

You need one of these...neat gadget - I have a feeder which automatically closes when the squirrel steps on the perch in front, but they still hang down under it and tease seeds out of the drain holes in the bottom with their tongues - it irritates me no end (although I do get a good laugh every time I think of my daughter telling me she saw one get tangled in the mechanism last year and hang flailing in mid air by his tail for about five minutes before managing to extricate himself - sorry PETA) - I've been working on a plan to rig up an insulated grid on the feeder connected by lampcord to an old electric train transformer - maybe about 20 volts AC would give them enough tingle to teach them to stay away - but your device looks like even more fun - maybe I'll give it a try first - thanks.......

[sweetliberty]

I love them. Great invention....and well worth the investment. Good luck with it.

[Stoat]

sorry to hear it's deteriorated so much, just one more cell of the "left coast" apparently......

Well, I've lived here for most of my life and it is indeed visually pretty, but the ethic here appears to be to follow as close to the San Francisco and Berkeley models of insane Leftism as is possible.  People like "Baghdad Jim" McDermott and Patty "Osama isn't so bad" Murray have solid political bases and massive, enthusiastic support here.  Gregoire has unconditional, enthusiastic support even though everyone knows that she stole the election and isn't the rightful Governor of our State.  The fact that she is a liberal Dem is enough for people here it seems, and they move along like nothing untoward has happened.  A TOTAL public and commercial smoking ban won handily last year as does virtually any tax increase or massive pie-in-the-sky civic project with no successful track record and of course anything at all for the 'homeless' is funded to the hilt.  The single women are generally skittish and unfriendly (and oftentimes lesbian) and the men are generally metrosexual liberal wimps (with the exception of the occasional stoat, of course). 

Thank you very much for serving our country and feel free to come back and visit anytime....a visitor most likely will be able to avoid the unpleasant things that the voting residents have to contend with.