The Grey Squirrel as a Training Aid

[shakey jake]

id love to see really heavy culling of greys sponsered by any body. im sure with enough work we could smash the numbers. id fully agree with the statement about not hating any animal. animals are just trying to live. doesnt mean we shouldnt enjoy killing as many as we can to help the environment

 

[billy_boyle_2010]

id love to see really heavy culling of greys sponsered by any body. im sure with enough work we could smash the numbers. id fully agree with the statement about not hating any animal. animals are just trying to live. doesnt mean we shouldnt enjoy killing as many as we can to help the environment

What do you mean "help the environment" ?

They are the environment.

 

[Klenchblaize]

What do you mean "help the environment" ?

They are the environment.

The preferred grey squirrel-free environment.
K

 

[shakey jake]

What do you mean "help the environment" ?

They are the environment.

they live in it but with no balance other than man pretty much, able to feed on a large amount of our native flora and fauna, population growth to the detrement of other animals. just because something lives in the environment doesnt mean it should, eradication may never be possible

 

[billy_boyle_2010]

they live in it but with no balance other than man pretty much, able to feed on a large amount of our native flora and fauna, population growth to the detrement of other animals. just because something lives in the environment doesnt mean it should, eradication may never be possible

Everything lives in the environment. The sum of which is the environment.

Are you serious ? No balance other than man ? Are you honestly claiming there are no predators and environmental factors that keep squirrel numbers in check ?

Lots of things grow to the detriment of others.

 

[Brno2e]

I got three on Sunday taking me up to 82 for the year without conscience.
Would love to see native reds back on my ground.

 

[shakey jake]

Everything lives in the environment. The sum of which is the environment.

Are you serious ? No balance other than man ? Are you honestly claiming there are no predators and environmental factors that keep squirrel numbers in check ?

Lots of things grow to the detriment of others.

yes im saying they dont have many controlling factores. maybe im wrong and they havent spread across most of low land uk in 100 odd years causeing the red to die off. id also say your definition of an enviroment is simplistic. greys are the only animal i want to kill on site in my garden

 

[billy_boyle_2010]

yes im saying they dont have many controlling factores. maybe im wrong and they havent spread across most of low land uk in 100 odd years causeing the red to die off. id also say your definition of an enviroment is simplistic. greys are the only animal i want to kill on site in my garden

Yes you're wrong. Very.

They bury nuts for a reason. Because they don't have much to eat during the winter. Bad years on nuts (like last year) really hit their numbers. Birds of Prey eat them- quite hard actually- as do foxes. Stoats etc will do too given the chance as will badgers- although these last two are rare. And in gardens- domestic cats love them! They have lots of predators.

The sucess of them compared to the red squirrel is complex- they are hardier tougher critters and so can survive against external factors more easily than reds. But unless you have an active red population- killing greys won't help the reds. It's just an excuse.

And again- you're missing my point. Most of your arguments against greys can also be applied at reds. If you had reds- who caused damage against other species- wouldn't you want to shoot them too ?

You think my 12 word description (it wasnt a definition) of an "environment" was simplistic ? Yup.

But feel free to expand on it, if you don't think it served its purpose or missed something important- within the context of this discussion?

 

[Bo Diddley]

 

[User00036]

I jus don like em cos the way they look at me, with their little squinty eyes.

 

[Ratel]

Grey squirrels are immune to the 'squirrel pox' virus, and that's the main reason they have decimated our native reds.

They are not immune, they carry the virus in their blood. I used to send blood samples in for testing from Grey's when I lived in Scotland to the red squirrel lady who covered our area.

 

[Ratel]

What do you mean "help the environment" ?

They are the environment.

So are deer so why do you shoot them?

 

[billy_boyle_2010]

So are deer so why do you shoot them?

I didn't say we shouldn't shoot squirrels. Or deer. Read what I have written

 

[geoshot]

My attitude to grey squirrels varies according to circumstances
I've spent quite a few very pleasant sessions culling squirrels on bits of forested ground where I had permission to shoot. The landowners and keepers seemed to appreciate the reduction in squirrel numbers, and it was a pleasant enough way to work to keep them happy.
I had a "pet" squirrel for a while at a flat in London. She would happily take nuts and dried fruit from my hand, which distracted her from raiding my bird feeders. She would tap on the window to get my attention and waited patiently for me to hand out her favourite treats. I took loads of photos of her and visitors to my place loved to see her too.
I think she was eventually eaten by one of the many local cats - and they almost certainly did more damage to the local bird population than the squirrels ever did
However, not all urban squirrels became "pets"
There were a couple at my partner's place who would take food if it was left out for them, have a drink from or wash in the birdbath and it was fun to watch their antics for a while.
All well and good until they raided a Robin's nest in the back garden, and killed a couple of Blackbird fledglings - they did that, not cats, I saw them do it
They both got a .22 air rifle pellet at first opportunity thereafter

 

[Ratel]

I didn't say we shouldn't shoot squirrels. Or deer. Read what I have written

I have read what you have written. Grey's are a recent introduction and are not part of our environment, as are many other things. Indeed I remember the Gov't paying one shilling per tail to remove them from our environment. You unfortunately seem to just want to keep ramping things up in their defence and then drawing back a little. Tired now after today's cull so goodnight.

 

[LuckyEddie]

This



70k saplings planted over 15yrs with 25% loss due to grey squirrel damage.

It’ll be interesting to see what losses are had in trying to re-forest Britain with 1.5billion trees.
Also this means that any area where there are no pathways for greys to reach the reds will be opened up and potentially lead to the demise of those reds.

 

[shakey jake]

im past argueing with any one about grey squirrels, im sure the debate could go for pages, i shot them, i like shooting them, i think every little helps, i eat some. hope you all shoot plenty

 

[billy_boyle_2010]

OK guys we aren't getting anywhere here so i will back off

They are a good training aid- especially now rabbit numbers are less reliable

 

[Kevinfish13]

Were the squirrels taken at a feeder with your .22LR or just roaming about ?

 

[75]

OK guys we aren't getting anywhere here so i will back off

They are a good training aid- especially now rabbit numbers are less reliable

Good. You're just being contrary for the sake of it and arguing over semantics.