vermin

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PandorasJar

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Just read a story about a guy shooting a grey squirrel. Problem was he didn't kill it, just hurt it and was later pts.
While I agree that the length of time and method was wrong... The daily fail seems to find the issue is that he called the squirrel vermin... Unless I'm mistaken it is... It's listen as vermin you can't release if caught?!
 
Yes I saw this, I did feel sorry for old squirrel if he is going to use a gun or kill it do it well and super fast. I feel sorry he was putting food out for wild birds but not wild squirrel(what does the idiot expect). I can understand if squirrel was living in his loft or had chewed through ie a saddle(highly unlikely).

But I also thought squirrel was vermin too. Just an idiot with a gun which was more a crime I would say? He clearly couldnt use it.
 
I could definitely be wrong but I thought it was less to do with vermin status and more to do with whether the species is native to the UK, so you could happily release a red squirrel (native) but not a grey one (non native)
 
Ah you're right PM. Just looked at Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) and if I've understood it correctly... I'm guilty 'releasing' both animals and plants that are an offence in the schedule :eek: Interestingly foxes seem to be fine to release as although the numbers were mainly brought over, they are native. I've always thought that you couldn't re-release them and was one of the few things OH and I put our foot down on last yard (with nutty landlady) and used to refuse to have fox trap out.

Indie... yes that is definitely more the crime. The gun he used I believe is the same as one of ours... which is perfectly capable of doing the job. God knows how he managed to shoot it that many times while caged in a small area and not put it outs of it's misery :( It's what OH uses to despatch baby rabbits I bring back from the middle of the road... seemingly the one thing I can't do myself!
 
Our squirrels are destructive vermin, my motto is live and let live, but squirrels take the biscuit, ours have chewed through plastic bin lids, contaminating feed, a petrol can, chewed the cap off the petrol lawnmower, chewed the fuel pipes on the lawnmower and petrol strimmer, resulting in waging war on them, any found raiding bird tables or nests are shot, ours when shooed off the bird table move away then turn and defy you to make them move.
Horrible creatures, worse than rabbits
 
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I was confused by this story because here squirrel traps are common they are checked very regularily and the greys shot and the reds released and it's just a net work of locals checking the traps .
But when I read it carefully I understood it was the botched kill that was the issue.
 
I absolutely agree that the botched kill was and should be the issue. And agree that it needs looking into.
But the paper seemed to be using the fact he'd called it vermin as a problem which I found a bit strange.
 
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