Following on from the Help For Squirrel thread...

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Moomin1

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Who here thinks that whacking over the head with a shovel to kill is an acceptable method of humane euthanasia of squirrels? Or any other animal for that matter!!

Also, what other options would people consider if they found an injured grey squirrel?
 
Who thinks that whacking a dying (poisoned) rat over the head with a shovel to end its suffering is humane?? Me for one - it's quick, and effective. A grey squirrel is just a tree rat. Its size means if you can get close enough to it with a shovel you can kill it instantly that way (and if you CAN get close enough then it does need putting out of its misery!)

What do YOU suggest - should it be caught and transported to a vet?? Suffering fear and stress on the way before the vet puts it out of its misery an hour later??
 
It is illegal to release a trapped squirrel back into the wild. I would have no hesitation to whack an injured squirrel, I would kill a rat even if it wasn't injured, dirty disease spreading vermin.
 
I too would whack on injured squirrel I think that's much better than quicker than an ghastly stressful trip to the vet for a wild animal .
I whack rats injured for otherwise without hesitation or deploy the attack dogs.
We are in a red area and when greys are spotted traps are put staight out and the greys dealt with if they go in the reds are released.
I would not how ever whack an injured red unless I was sure it was fatally injured I would ring the squirrel watch people for advice.i am not sure what they do if you find a sick red with pox does anyone know ?
 
I would much prefer to end the suffering of a squirrel quickly, than have it drag on being put in a box and transported to the vet, and examined etc etc etc. So I guess if a shovel is the quickest way, then yes, I would.
 
Several other options for me.

Break it's neck or shoot it. Although I wouldn't waste a cartridge on a rat, spade over the head or like I say, gloves on and break its neck. Very quick and effective.


As Janet said, what do you suggest?
 
absolutely I would knock it over the head if it was already injured and incapacitated. if we catch one in the live trap then it is shot because they are fiesty little things and i'd rather keep all my fingers intact:) same for rats.
 
Couldn't trust myself to do it but would ask the farmer to do it rather than subject it to a vet visit. Better quick and brutal than gentle but following minutes / hours of panic and stress. No idea what I'd do if it wasn't injured / ill.
 
I usually decapitate my rats with a spade :o

Would definitely whack an injured squirrel. I've also whacked myxy rabbits over the head too. If I thought I could stretch their necks properly I'd do that but boshing them over the head is pretty quick.
 
Yep - definitely use the shovel method for squirrels and rats, although would get my OH to do it as I know he can despatch them instantaneously.

Bigger wild animals are probably better shot.

Domesticated animals are different in that they are used to being handled and transported by humans, so taking them to a vet is not as stressful (well for most of them anyway).
 
I'm to pathetic to whack with a shovel myself, i ask the YO to do it. Though if he wasn't about i would try really hard to end suffering myself, would feel very guilty leaving am animal suffering.
 
I would whack an injured squirrel over the head yes, although the chances are if the dog got to it first she would save me a job.;)
I certainly wouldn't risk being bitten by trying to pick it up and take it on a stressful trip to the vet, or bother phoning the RSPCA who would probably take a day or two to come to it.
 
Yes I would, or get OH to if he was around. Likewise rats or mixy rabbits, No hesitation, far too many pesky varmint around!! :D
 
Absolutely I would. Especially the little s*d who made a nest in my air intake in my truck and caused me to break down not long ago. Horrible things they are!!!
 
Moomin1 said:
Who here thinks that whacking over the head with a shovel to kill is an acceptable method of humane euthanasia of squirrels? Or any other animal for that matter!!
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I think it entirely depends on the situation. Although I wouldn't be able to do it.

Also, what other options would people consider if they found an injured grey squirrel?
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When I saw one run over by the car in front, I picked it up and took it to the vets for euthanasia.
 
Until the last few years I've always had a terrier who would finish it off. But she wouldn't touch any of the rats that came from elsewhere dying slowly from poison, so had to learn how to finish them off. Since losing my last terrier I've also finished of a squirrel & a mixy rabbit. Generally the farm cat deals with vermin before we see it, but I have taken injured & half dead things off her that look like they've crawled from the road to die after being hit & finished them with a shovel. It's not something I enjoy & given the choice I'd rather have a terrier do it, but its far preferable to leaving it slowly to die or letting a cat find it. I've also finished off a few birds with horrific injuries too.
 
I think it is best to end it quickly but I too am too pansy to do it myself! I found a myxy rabbit that was black so I thought it may have been someone's pet. I called rspca but they said to take it to the vets for euthanasia, it died before I could get it there bless it and probably suffered a lot. I was quite young!
 
I have used a shovel on a rat. Also on a fox we found which had been shot some days beforehand (we presume as it was rail thin) but not killed. Half its face was shot off so it couldn't eat or drink. And the shovel was to hand so I used that, it was quickest.
I used to keep an iron bar for myxi rabbits.
No, I don't like doing it (and I got a neighbour to put down a horribly injured hedgehog as I couldn't face doing that) but at least it's quick, and we are a long way from the nearest vet surgery.
 
Yep a whack over the head to finish it off. I have done it before, a couple of years ago. My mum and I where on our way somewhere and she hit a squirel, it was injured and was trying to run away and failing badly. A neighbour saw and brought out a shovel although neighbour and my mum couldn't bring themseleves to do it. So I did. Was very quick.
 
OH has practice on the necks of his birds so would probably do it that way (although he always takes head totally off right away to be sure!). I take to vet (most will PTS wildlife for free) if not in extreme pain or go for something more manual (and very gory becasue I don't want any suffering prolonged but don't have enough practice to do it neatly!) if it clearly needed doing asap.

Both of us have nursed various creatures (most recently a goldfinch!) back to health/non-prevantable demise too though.
 
My dad also managed to run over a frog last weekend whilst he was cutting the grass. Took the frogs leg off and rather then letting the poor thing bleed to death my dad put it in a bag and then swung it down on top of a wall. It was a much quicker death then the one it was going to have
 
Our cat once ripped the wing off a little sparrow and left the poor thing with a leg hanging off in the living room.

I put it in a carrier bag and hit it with a jar of bolegnese sauce mix (!!!) So as it wouldn't die slowly.

Felt awful but at least he went quickly!
 
Well moomin it would seem that the vast majority of people on here agree that a quick bang on the head with a shovel is a humane way of dispatching a poorly squirrel.
So do you still think I am a vile and disghusting person for suggesting it on the original post. Frankly I don't care what you think of me ,I love animals and have a lot of respect for wildlife. However I am very unlikely to trot off to the vet with an injured rodent if it can be dispatched humanely where its found. I have far too much common sense!
 
marlyclay said:
Well moomin it would seem that the vast majority of people on here agree that a quick bang on the head with a shovel is a humane way of dispatching a poorly squirrel.
So do you still think I am a vile and disghusting person for suggesting it on the original post. Frankly I don't care what you think of me ,I love animals and have a lot of respect for wildlife. However I am very unlikely to trot off to the vet with an injured rodent if it can be dispatched humanely where its found. I have far too much common sense!
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Love to see the vets face when faced with a angry injured rat to PTS humanely.
I once had a sad experiance with a ferret I kept at that time jills one night I when across to stables and the Jills where very agitated and the dogs very excited I at first thought there was a rat about and was going to let the girls out for a run about but something stopped me the way they where chattering was odd the next night saw why a very large old looking poor looking albino hob was in the barn he must have got lost rabbiting and had found his way to our barn he must have been living rough for a while and was so thin i put out food for him and left he stayed around and was worried he might give the girls something nasty and soon found that all he would eat was raw rabbit so had to get one shot every day the saw him and it was decided he needed catching he was getting tame by now but looked terrible I trapped him but it was abad move you could not handle him he bit staight though a pair of gauntlets I got from an RSPCA officer I knew when the keeper tried to pick him up once it was decided to PTS in a crush cage this is a cage that gets smaller until the animal is immobilised then the vet injects it but the cage did not get small enough and the ferret twisted round very stressful for everyone so that did not work next it was decided to take it to the vets they would get it into a sealed box and gas it the next day.
That evening OH shot it a bunny I was about to put it in the hutch when I met OH eye without talking I coaxed it into a big cardboard box we put on the ground where we knew it was deep soil and OH shot it .
Not our finest hour letting it be put in that crush cage I still feel guilty now I buried him in my little ferret graveyard under the hedge .
There's no moral to this sad tale except sometimes the best intentions turn out wrong.
 
marlyclay said:
Well moomin it would seem that the vast majority of people on here agree that a quick bang on the head with a shovel is a humane way of dispatching a poorly squirrel.
So do you still think I am a vile and disghusting person for suggesting it on the original post. Frankly I don't care what you think of me ,I love animals and have a lot of respect for wildlife. However I am very unlikely to trot off to the vet with an injured rodent if it can be dispatched humanely where its found. I have far too much common sense!
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I too would quite like to know if I am still considered to be such a bad person, although I replied on the original thread as I wasn't expecting an offshoot thread. :rolleyes:

I wouldn't do it with a shovel though - don't think I own one! The one I had to handle in the forest was done with a hefty stick I found, various rodents or birds assorted cats have handed to me in various forms over the years have been dispatched with a rolling pin (insert cartoon here), a boot with a foot inside, a brick, a hammer or a broom handle.
 
Whack it. Have necked rabbits squashed by cars, shot-peppered pigeons before now.

Also...where I live, grey squirrels are shoot on sight anyway...we are trying desperately to preserve the greys, I report a grey every time I see one to the relevant people!
 
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