long_range_rob
Well-Known Member
You couldn’t make this stuff up 
Grey squirrel contraception
- Thread starter jimmy milnes
- Start date
A Guy Out West
Well-Known Member
I’ve never known a gray squirrel to strip bark from a tree. If it’s that bad, how about helicopter eradication. Low flying chopper with fully automatic 10 ga. Shotguns spraying a mix of # 4 and 5 lead shot. That would be a sight to see.
Foxyboy43
Well-Known Member
Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
You need to be very careful putting drugs into wild animals. It could have disastrous effects on the ability of predators that eat squirrels to breed.
By far the best way dealing with grey squirrels is a concerted trapping / shooting across a wide area. It needs to happen in urban / suburban as well as country areas.
put a bounty on squirrel tails. It doesn’t take long. I grew up next to a 500 acre mixed farm on the edge of chilterns. In mid 1980s Veniards were paying 50p a tail. I earned quite a bit of money with an air rifle and shotgun shooting squirrels and after 12 months they were very scarce.
By far the best way dealing with grey squirrels is a concerted trapping / shooting across a wide area. It needs to happen in urban / suburban as well as country areas.
put a bounty on squirrel tails. It doesn’t take long. I grew up next to a 500 acre mixed farm on the edge of chilterns. In mid 1980s Veniards were paying 50p a tail. I earned quite a bit of money with an air rifle and shotgun shooting squirrels and after 12 months they were very scarce.
Got to agree with @Heym SR20 on this.
There have been numerous previous examples of these 'clever' and 'humane' plans to control populations causing unintended consequences.
Take cane toads in Australia, myxy for rabbits (I guess that isn't unintended but is hardly to be desired) and I'm sure there are plenty of others if I could care to research.
If this doesn't work as desired it could just swap one problem for another. The hippies won't like it but targeted trapping and shooting is labour intensive but can be stopped at any point (not that you'd want to) and if carried out carefully won't see other things wiped out by accident.
There have been numerous previous examples of these 'clever' and 'humane' plans to control populations causing unintended consequences.
Take cane toads in Australia, myxy for rabbits (I guess that isn't unintended but is hardly to be desired) and I'm sure there are plenty of others if I could care to research.
If this doesn't work as desired it could just swap one problem for another. The hippies won't like it but targeted trapping and shooting is labour intensive but can be stopped at any point (not that you'd want to) and if carried out carefully won't see other things wiped out by accident.
Much of what you say is true, but if you think you will get "shooting little squirrels" in the urban environment past the cuddly tree rat huggers I think you may be whistling in the wind.
David.
You're probably correct, but the stupid b**gers won't feel too clever when various birds of prey become infertile or it turns out that red squirrels are also prevented from breeding by this stuff.
The stupid idiots won't accept responsibility. There is research to make sure the feed stations only "accept" bigger heavier greys, but lets face it there are plenty of areas where there aren't any red squirrels to affect.
David.
Crowstalker
Well-Known Member
What nonsense now, especially when the idea is to supposedly save the planet 
you would honestly think the government is in the payroll of some environmental vegans.
you would honestly think the government is in the payroll of some environmental vegans.HA, just noticed my earlier post said advantage - should have been disadvantage!
I've dug a bit into this and the contraception is a vaccine for GnRH (Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone) which the main hormone that controls all other sex hormones. It's been used in darts (gonacon) to reduce populations of wild horses. What is quite cool is how they have got it into an oral format that gets teh vaccine to stick to the pharynx walls presenting the vaccien to the immue system. Most of this stuff is online as a DEFRA funded research. So there is no risk of the vaccine gettin into non-target animals, even the predators
I've dug a bit into this and the contraception is a vaccine for GnRH (Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone) which the main hormone that controls all other sex hormones. It's been used in darts (gonacon) to reduce populations of wild horses. What is quite cool is how they have got it into an oral format that gets teh vaccine to stick to the pharynx walls presenting the vaccien to the immue system. Most of this stuff is online as a DEFRA funded research. So there is no risk of the vaccine gettin into non-target animals, even the predators
So who’s going to pay for it and then who’s going to set the bait stations.
All this will cost money and mean extra work for some poor sod!
All this will cost money and mean extra work for some poor sod!
Bavarianbrit
Well-Known Member
I have been racking my brains on how to get the smallest condom made fitted on to them but so far no luck. 
You can't educate pork, stupid is what stupid does
Drug them in towns, shoot/trap them everywhere else. The latter approach has the benefit of making them a food and leisure resource (hunting squirrels is highly entertaining, success is deeply satisfying, and the saddle and haunches are thoroughly yummy). If you want to accelerate the eradication process then put a bounty on them... Especially if it's equivalent to the cost per squirrel chemically sterilised! (Only fair)
Shoot it first then put in condom then in bin no probs
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