Fresh meat

[JBP]

Jessie this morning caught a rabbit on our walk, then this afternoon caught a squirrel who dared to enter the garden, silly mistake. Fresh meat for Jessie and Bryn tonight. Squirrel starter Rabbit main course.

 

[JudyN]

You can't get much more free range than that

 

[Hemlock]

Brilliant! Clever dog.

 

[JBP]

I will admit I'm really pleased with her tenacity, a daytime catch full on heart she gave it, it was a pleasure to watch, Bryn missed it , he was the other end of the field munching on sheep poo haha

 

[JoanneF]

Waste not, want not.

 

[Richard & Patsy]

Please tell us it was a grey squirrel

 

[JBP]

Of course a grey tree rat

 

[JBP]

I enjoy watching the aerial skill of the grey squirrel leaping from branch to branch when I'm out walking however when they come into my garden there fair game. I'm not keen on the greys for forcing out our lovely native red squirrel. Whatever my dogs catch they eat , to me it would be a waste of a life if it was just thrown away. Saying that I don't feed them the rats they catch, find it to fiddly to prepare, I always gut the catch just in case it's carrying intestinal parasites. I save and treat the pelts, I made a lovely warm rabbit fur liner for my motorbike jacket used for my winter rally adventures, eat your heart out Ann Summers.

 

[Hemlock]

The fewer grey squirrels = the more songbirds.

There was a time about 10 years ago when they were served up in posh artisanal-type restaurants, and I was getting a fiver each for them. They are very tasty - better than rabbit IMO. But difficult to skin, so after a few experiments I preferred to sell them or give them to the ferrets. Fly fisherpeople like the tails too.

Nowadays I have no ferrets, and artisan food has moved on to other fashions, so I leave them for the fox, badger and so on.

 

[Richard & Patsy]

We live in an area of red squirrels but the grey squirrels are now only a few miles away. Grant money is paid to landowners who trap greys and there are posters out saying how to report sightings. Hopefully the line will hold.

 

[Dibbythedog]

The fewer grey squirrels = the more songbirds.

.

The fewer humans = the more song birds. It's the humans who are the pests, we spread diseases, pollute the atmosphere and destroy rain forests far more than squirrels and rats .

 

[Hemlock]

We have to agree to disagree on that one. Grey squirrels hammer nests, and destroy huge numbers of eggs and chicks. They aren't good for trees either. While I agree human sins are many, we needn't think animals would do any better if they had the world to themselves without humans. They might not realise they do things like destroy waterholes, plant life and other creatures' food sources, but it still happens.

Back to the original subject - if every grey squirrel were to vanish from Britain, the countryside would be no worse off. So to recycle them as dog food ticks several ecology boxes.