Squirrel Admonishment

[felixthelogchopper]

45 minutes ago, Billhook said:

Poor old Sammy Squirrel!   He has a lot of human characteristics. 

He is very destructive, like us he destroys trees for his own use

But like us he does plant the seeds again. 

He nicks eggs from bird's nests, we nick eggs from hens. 

He is very territorial

He is very disobedient

He is a good tree climber like some of us.

He is good at scolding from a distance, a bit like us on the internet.

He is good at problem solving  (Maybe they ought to have some in Westminster!)

 

Lead would be an obvious answer but we have a truce with all creatures in our garden, this is not the case on the farm but the government has managed to do that with the shooting ban!

General Licences do not apply to greys, rats or rabbits, IIRC.

[dig-dug-dan]

Type in goodnature into amazon. Its a squirrel trap that uses compressed air to fire a hammer at its head. Death is instant, and the squirrel drops to the floor , plus the trap is then ready immediately for its next victim without any human intervention.

Each air capsule is enough for 18 kills, and you get a handy counter on it to tell you the number of kills!

[Khriss]

Bought ! Bring them on . K

[Billhook]

I think that you need the A18 as opposed to the A24, but I cannot see it on Amazon UK

 

 

Failing that it has to be not the A24 or the A18  but the AA12!

 

 

 

Each to their own but I think it may be cheaper and safer just to feed them so that they become too fat to enter the cage, and maybe like humans they will develop hip problems so that they cannot climb!

[Billhook]

I must say that I had never heard of a general licence until all the row about wood pigeon and carrion crow control appeared recently so I looked up whether there was a specific general licence for Grey Squirrels that could be revoked

In this article it seems that RSPCA  deem that most people will be incapable of killing a squirrel without causing "unnecessary suffering" and will therefore be in breach of the law,  So this may be the next thing on the agenda from Packham/Tingay/Avery and all at Wild Justice

 

 is legal to kill grey squirrels and most people do it by trapping and shooting. But it must be done in a humane manner or you will be fined under animal welfare laws.

The Animal Welfare Act 2006 rules that it is illegal to cause “unnecessary suffering” to an animal under your care. This includes animals caught in traps, like squirrels.

It is therefore illegal to kill a squirrel by drowning, asphyxiation or bludgeoning to death.

But it is generally accepted that a blow to the back of the head or shooting is legal as the animal dies quickly. The Forestry Commission and other groups recommend catching the animal in a sack before delivering a single blow to the head. An air rifle can also be used as long as the user is properly qualified. Free shooting of squirrels is also generally accepted as long as the person has a licence and can guarantee a clean kill.

However the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals argue that most people will be incapable of killing a squirrel without causing “unnecessary suffering” and will therefore be in breach of the law. They recommend taking the animal to the vet to be put down for around £30 or calling in pest control experts who will shoot the animal or kill it with a blow to the head.

[Big J]

3 minutes ago, Billhook said:

I must say that I had never heard of a general licence until all the row about wood pigeon and carrion crow control appeared recently so I looked up whether there was a specific general licence for Grey Squirrels that could be revoked

In this article it seems that RSPCA  deem that most people will be incapable of killing a squirrel without causing "unnecessary suffering" and will therefore be in breach of the law,  So this may be the next thing on the agenda from Packham/Tingay/Avery and all at Wild Justice

 

 is legal to kill grey squirrels and most people do it by trapping and shooting. But it must be done in a humane manner or you will be fined under animal welfare laws.

The Animal Welfare Act 2006 rules that it is illegal to cause “unnecessary suffering” to an animal under your care. This includes animals caught in traps, like squirrels.

It is therefore illegal to kill a squirrel by drowning, asphyxiation or bludgeoning to death.

But it is generally accepted that a blow to the back of the head or shooting is legal as the animal dies quickly. The Forestry Commission and other groups recommend catching the animal in a sack before delivering a single blow to the head. An air rifle can also be used as long as the user is properly qualified. Free shooting of squirrels is also generally accepted as long as the person has a licence and can guarantee a clean kill.

However the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals argue that most people will be incapable of killing a squirrel without causing “unnecessary suffering” and will therefore be in breach of the law. They recommend taking the animal to the vet to be put down for around £30 or calling in pest control experts who will shoot the animal or kill it with a blow to the head.

I very much doubt that Packham would get behind not culling grey squirrels. The broader environmental damage they cause is so extensive that it would take someone tremendously blinkered to make a case for not controlling them. 

 

Can I just stress, every single young hardwood stand I've seen since moving to Devon has moderate to severe squirrel damage. Considering that on plantation format planting, you're 2500 trees per hectare, you have a planting cost of £7500 minimum, plus maintenance. Without significant squirrel control between the ages of 10-50 years, you'll end up with a woodland full of bushes, with almost no commercial value at all. 

At a grey squirrel talk the other day, the forestry consultant presenting it used the example of a large estate they manage in Hampshire. On a significant replanting block, they calculated that without squirrel control, the stand would have an eventual value of £2.5m. With £500,000 of squirrel control during those vulnerable years, the final value of the stand was worked out to be £11m. 

 

They are not native. They are responsible for the demise of our native squirrel and they extensively damage the eco systems they inhabit. People need to stop anthropomorphising them as cute little woodland dwellers and instead shooting the bastards on sight.

 

[openspaceman]

10 minutes ago, Billhook said:

The Forestry Commission and other groups recommend catching the animal in a sack before delivering a single blow to the head

My first job in the 70s involved checking the trap line each morning and evening. I came to dislike humane traps, especially family ones as doing as FC recommended was difficult at best of times and impossible if a whole family were trapped.

 

It did no good in any case as neighbouring land  was not controlled.

[felixthelogchopper]

26 minutes ago, Billhook said:

I must say that I had never heard of a general licence until all the row about wood pigeon and carrion crow control appeared recently so I looked up whether there was a specific general licence for Grey Squirrels that could be revoked

In this article it seems that RSPCA  deem that most people will be incapable of killing a squirrel without causing "unnecessary suffering" and will therefore be in breach of the law,  So this may be the next thing on the agenda from Packham/Tingay/Avery and all at Wild Justice

 

 is legal to kill grey squirrels and most people do it by trapping and shooting. But it must be done in a humane manner or you will be fined under animal welfare laws.

The Animal Welfare Act 2006 rules that it is illegal to cause “unnecessary suffering” to an animal under your care. This includes animals caught in traps, like squirrels.

It is therefore illegal to kill a squirrel by drowning, asphyxiation or bludgeoning to death.

But it is generally accepted that a blow to the back of the head or shooting is legal as the animal dies quickly. The Forestry Commission and other groups recommend catching the animal in a sack before delivering a single blow to the head. An air rifle can also be used as long as the user is properly qualified. Free shooting of squirrels is also generally accepted as long as the person has a licence and can guarantee a clean kill.

However the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals argue that most people will be incapable of killing a squirrel without causing “unnecessary suffering” and will therefore be in breach of the law. They recommend taking the animal to the vet to be put down for around £30 or calling in pest control experts who will shoot the animal or kill it with a blow to the head.

I can see any attempt to prevent the culling of grey squirrels causing a lot of conflict with groups concerned with red squirrel conservation. I'd like to know how an air rifle shooter could demonstrate being 'properly qualified'. Another possible opportunity for NPTC, perhaps?

[Haironyourchest]

In Ireland the pine marten is coming back - was endangered for a while but they multiplying again. They are predating on the grey squirrels, as the grey is slower, and as a consequence the red squirrel is also coming back.

[felixthelogchopper]

1 minute ago, Haironyourchest said:

In Ireland the pine marten is coming back - was endangered for a while but they multiplying again. They are predating on the grey squirrels, as the grey is slower, and as a consequence the red squirrel is also coming back.

They are a good predator for greys which tend to spend more time on the ground than reds. Reds are also lighter than greys so can get out further on the branches to evade the pine martens.