out walking..

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lula

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my dog today on wooded private land i came across a squirrel trap and sitting in it was a grey squirrel. Im sure whoever set the trap would be cussing me hugely but after finally working out how to release the squirrel i opened the trap and let it go

so i was wondering, was i wrong to do this (landowner's feelings aside!) .. are squirrels a huge pest? The trap seemed humane enough but what was going to happen to it when the trapper returned..would it be killed?

I dont know much about this subject and cross this land often (with the owners permission) if i see similar squirrels in traps there again should i just leave them?

any thoughts welcome!
 
Personally I think you have a real cheek, squirrels are pests, have one living in your loft and then you wont think so kindly of them. But the bottom line is you are on someones land with their permission and interfering with their right to catch and dispose of vermin. If it was my land you would no longer be welcome.
 
Please, PLEASE leave them, the grey squirrel is an invasive species which carries a virus which is decimating the native red squirrel population. They less there are of them, the better.
If I was the landowner I would be pretty pissed off, he or she is probably trying to conserve what little reds there are left :(

If I see a grey squirrel I immediately call a number and report it because the situation is so bad here.
 
thankyou dobiegirl

thats why im asking. i have no idea if i was right or wrong. the sentimental twit in me just didnt want to see it killed i suppose. but you're very right, im sure the landowner wouldnt be pleased.

people's answers on this thread will dictate what i do next time. im simply asking for advice as i said, i know nothing about the subject.
 
As CC said they are a foreign introduced species and apart from the pox which they carry but are immune to they pass this on to our lovely native red squirrel.

They raid my bird table and Ive had them in my loft, they chew threw the electrical cables and start fires and do a lot of damage to young trees. They are also known as tree rats and by that name yo can tell they have few friends.

The landowner was catching them legally and humanely and would shoot them when he arrived to check the traps. He would not be allowed to take and release them elsewhere as its against the law.
 
Blimey- you managed to free a squirrel whilst with your dog? Dex would have been going nuts and I fear it would have ended badly for the squirrel!!
 
cheers Dobie and CC
yeah i have heard them called tree rats and i do know they've decimated our native red squirrel population which is a shame.

i'll leave well alone in future ;)
 
Aye, didn't mean to be too harsh but we're really fighting a losing battle here, we are very supportive of the local red squirrel group but sometimes it feels like we are peeing in the wind, I feel sick every time I see a grey. There really are enough of them to go round already without worrying about a cull.
 
ha! lex, dog was indeed going nuts, closest she's ever got to a real live squirrel but she's pretty well trained (pretty!) when i said 'leave' and nut-face disappeared up the nearest tree quicker than a rat up the proverbial drain pipe as soon as i'd made a hole it could escape through big enough

muttly was gutted!
 
lula said:
ha! lex, dog was indeed going nuts, closest she's ever got to a real live squirrel but she's pretty well trained (pretty!) when i said 'leave' and nut-face disappeared up the nearest tree quicker than a rat up the proverbial drain pipe as soon as i'd made a hole it could escape through big enough

muttly was gutted!
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Im not sure Dex would have forgiven me for ruining the tasty snack some nice person had caught for him! :D
 
you werent harsh CC. im not worrying about culling animals if it needs to be done. Ofcourse i love animals but when you do i think you've got to understand sometimes some species need to be kept in check.

i didnt even know red squirrels were still around in the UK. i really thought the grey had seen them off for good. good to hear.
 
A few years ago when my daughter was small and we had the Heelers we caught a rat in a humane trap.

We took it out across the field and only took one dog as we wanted to be sporting and let it go. We gave it a good head start and let Pip1 go and it was a forgone conclusion.

All my Dobes hate squirrels, I suppose they see them on my peanut holders and see me banging on the window but the only one who ever got close to catching one was Fred who tried desperately to climb a tree after one.
 
Evie has dedicated her life to removing squirrels from our garden! She hasn't managed to catch one yet but sits staring at the trees for ages in hope.:p

Glad to see you have a full set of letters now dobiegirl!:D
 
I was just getting used to the asterisks, they were endearing!!!

Yeah, my older dog is a tree-stalker as well, dammit dog, you can neither climb nor fly, give it up!! And can still remember where he saw a squirrel once two years ago....
 
lula said:
... i didnt even know red squirrels were still around in the UK. i really thought the grey had seen them off for good. good to hear.
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^^^ This ^^^. I'm 46 and never in my life have I seen a red squirrel outside of a Beatrix Potter book. Where in the UK do they still exist?
 
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