A small death....

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FionaM12

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On my way to check on Moll tonight, I was just about to turn off the busy road onto the lane to the yard, and saw something ahead wriggling in the road. :(

I turned off the road and pulled over. Now I'm the kind of person who has a plastic box with holes in the lid in my car :rolleyes: so I took that and ran back. It was a grey squirrel, and traffic was flashing past, but as I stepped out the cars in both directions stopped and drivers watched as I gently put the squirrel into the box (perfectly squirrel-sized, as it happened) and left the road, thanking them.

Sadly on closer inspection I could see it was hopeless. He was too badly injured. A short while later he breathed his last, lying in the little box in my car. :(

He was beautiful, close up. I know greys don't belong here and pose problems for our native creatures. But my default reaction is always to try to help any animal suffering. And to feel a little sad to see it die.

RIP little Tufty (many of you will be too young to remember Tufty the squirrel).
 
poor little chap :(
so many deaths on the rd
one of the instructors came said they clients cat came in dragging his back legs lucky a vet there PTS broken his back rip little cat
 
Aww bless you! Poor little Tufty. I love grey squirrels, we have some by us that will feed from people's hands in the park.

Unfortunately, even if Tufty had made it, he would have had to have been pts anyway due to Wildlife and Countryside Act law. Grey squirrels cannot be released into the wild. Occassionally a licence can allow it in certain areas, but not very common. :(
 
well done for caring, most would have just carried on by.
I wonder if he had survived if it would have been illegal to release him back into the wild as it's not a native animal:confused:
 
Rip tufty. Lovely thing to do, hate to see anything suffering. Had to get my terrier (who was a ratter & new her stuff) to quickly finish off a half dead baby rabbit I found once. Not nice for you. I also stopped my car in a city centre for what turned out to be a cuddly toy being moved by the air flow of passing cars. Better safe than sorry though.
 
dressagelove said:
It is actually illegal to release grey squirrels back into the wild if you do catch them, so maybe it was for the best.
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Moomin1 said:
Unfortunately, even if Tufty had made it, he would have had to have been pts anyway due to Wildlife and Countryside Act law. Grey squirrels cannot be released into the wild. Occassionally a licence can allow it in certain areas, but not very common. :(
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Ibblebibble said:
I wonder if he had survived if it would have been illegal to release him back into the wild as it's not a native animal:confused:
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That never even occured to me. :o
 
Aw, what a lovely, kind and compassionate person you are. No matter that it was `only` a grey squirrel; it was a living creature and you enabled it dignity and care in death. Not everyone would.
 
blazingsaddles said:
Why should it? Compassion comes before the law of the land. I have and would do the same again.:)
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There's nothing wrong in catching them and taking them to a vet to end their suffering - that's fine. It's just they aren't allowed to be released into the wild as they are the cause of the near extinction of our red squirrels.

The Wildlife and Countryside Act offences are strict liability offences - so you are automatically guilty unless you can prove otherwise. Section 9, Schedule 14 details all of the animals that this applies to - and they take it so seriously that imprisonment is a likely penalty.

Sorry to sound like a geek, but it is VERY serious and important that people don't release grey squirrels without a licence - as much as they are lovely little creatures.:)
 
Moomin1 said:
There's nothing wrong in catching them and taking them to a vet to end their suffering - that's fine. It's just they aren't allowed to be released into the wild as they are the cause of the near extinction of our red squirrels.

The Wildlife and Countryside Act offences are strict liability offences - so you are automatically guilty unless you can prove otherwise. Section 9, Schedule 14 details all of the animals that this applies to - and they take it so seriously that imprisonment is a likely penalty.

Sorry to sound like a geek, but it is VERY serious and important that people don't release grey squirrels without a licence - as much as they are lovely little creatures.:)
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I am not responsible for the actions of my ancestors. Grey squirrels are doing very well in my neck of the woods and whilst some may view them as rats with bushy tails, I am fond of them. I'm sure I would be equally fond of red squirrels but if I rescued a non-dangerous wild animal, it would be released back into our fair and pleasant land.:)
 
Moomin1 said:
The Wildlife and Countryside Act offences are strict liability offences - so you are automatically guilty unless you can prove otherwise. Section 9, Schedule 14 details all of the animals that this applies to - and they take it so seriously that imprisonment is a likely penalty.
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:eek::eek: I could have ended up in gaol for Squirrel Crimes.... :eek:
 
Well done for stopping and giving the poor little chap a dignified end (even if it was in a plastic box):( Much nicer than if he had been hit again by another car.

I seem to attract half dead/ dying animals - picked up a poor buzzard from the road recently - he was perfect and had obviously flown into the side of a lorry and broken his neck. Couldn't believe how beautiful he was.

My OH is a vet and the local kids all know that and will often arrive on our doorstep with injured animals for him to "sort". We even had a tiny bat one day - already dead - though we didn't tell the kids who had found him :(
 
You did your best maid , and i for one would have done the very same .... i can't tell you how much it saddens me to see animals run over and then constantly re-run over by every passing car...yes , sometimes it's impossible not to hit a creature if it literally jumps out infront of your car , but FGS please just move it to the side of the road please!
 
RIP Small Tufty...

I stopped to help a squirrel once, and the ungrateful devil bit my finger down to the bone....

Still, he was only dazed luckily, and once he was in the long grass, he scurried off up a tree...

Finger hurt like hell though, blood everywhere.
 
Well done you! That's good to hear. I used to see the same squirrel each morning on the way to my yard and I just knew he would get hit one day as he was always running back and forth across the road. I did find him dead one day and parked up so I could put him to the side of the road.

Sad I know but I had got fond of him and didn't want him plastered across the road even though he was already dead. I saved a rat once too... they can't help being what they are! And I can't help being soft.
 
Well done you, for at least trying to help!!

I've even been known to save ladybirds, snails and other bugs! I once helped prolong the life of a flower which had been kicked out of the ground by a naughty child.
If it's living, I'll save it :P

R.I.P Little Tufty!
 
DragonSlayer said:
RIP Small Tufty...

I stopped to help a squirrel once, and the ungrateful devil bit my finger down to the bone....

Still, he was only dazed luckily, and once he was in the long grass, he scurried off up a tree...

Finger hurt like hell though, blood everywhere.
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I was just about to mention this :) I know someone who picked up an injured squirrel and he had the same treatment from it, couldn't get the little blighter off and he bled like a stuck pig.
I also got the bite treatment from a cat that had been run over. Had a lovely big fat infected finger for days.
 
DragonSlayer said:
RIP Small Tufty...

I stopped to help a squirrel once, and the ungrateful devil bit my finger down to the bone....

Still, he was only dazed luckily, and once he was in the long grass, he scurried off up a tree...

Finger hurt like hell though, blood everywhere.
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I made that mistake rescuing a ferret once. Dropped the ferret at the vet's, and on vet's urgent prompting I went straight to casualty and spent the next few days with my arm in a sling, strapped ridiculously high to control bruising and swelling. :o Ferret was fine and found a nice home with the vet nurse's brother.

I was very careful to use the lid of the box to ease the squirrel off the road and keep my hands well away this time.

Btw DragonSlayer, it seems you also risked imprisonment!
 
At least you tried to help tufty :)

RIP little fella

When I see an animal struggling, like you, I certainly couldn't just walk or drive past.
 
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