Squirrels - red or grey, on the railways or otherwise: merged topic

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Isle squirrel crosses to mainland


Conservationists hope to make Anglesey a red squirrel haven

Red squirrels have found their way across the Menai Strait from Anglesey to Gwynedd, conservationists believe.

Two squirrels were found at Treborth and on the Faenol estate near Bangor - the first time a member of the species had been found in the area for decades.

Scientists are now waiting for the results of DNA testing to establish if they came from the Anglesey colonies.

Over 300 red squirrels live on Anglesey following 10 years of efforts to clear grey squirrels from the island.

Now Friends of Anglesey Red Squirrel think the endangered animals may have found their way across one of the Menai Strait bridges and started to colonise new habitats on the mainland.


The squirrels could have used either of the two bridges

Conservationist Dr Craig Shuttleworth thinks further culling of grey squirrels will be necessary to allow the newly discovered reds to thrive. "The last squirrel recorded at Treborth was in 1976 so this is great news," he said. "It would be nice to have a colony in Gwynedd. The squirrels were two young adult males, which are sort of teenagers - they are pioneering animals, risk takers. I suspect they came along the railway line, which has a gravel path and plenty of light and quiet. From a scientific point of view it quite clearly demonstrates they can get across, either by bridge or by swimming, which is less likely."

Reds are always under threat from greys because of competition for food and because the greys carry the squirrel pox virus which does not affect them but has a devastating effect on reds.

According to Friends of Anglesey Red Squirrels, the mammals were once widespread on Anglesey but the population declined sharply in the late 1980s as grey squirrels started to predominate.

Two years ago, residents on the island were encouraged to call a special phone line to report sightings of grey squirrels so they could be culled in a bid to completely eradicate greys from the island for good.

 

[JayMac]

Being 'teenagers' these two males are obviously enjoying risk taking on railway property. However there is another important aspect in any teenager's life: Attempting to get your end away. With no suitable lady red squirrels on the mainland I think you'll find the 'Angelsey Two' will have to 'run the risk' again to get back to the island for some hot squirrel action

[Chris from Nailsea]

As another householder who has suffered from 'squirrels in the loft' for several years now, performing 'Riverdance' over my head, I do have some sympathy with the Reverend ... 

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

A vicar from Bredon near Tewkesbury, who caught a grey squirrel in his house, has slammed rules that say he is not allowed to kill or release it.
Douglas Drane caught the animal in a humane trap, but the RSPCA said he'd have to pay a professional to deal with it.
Mr Drane was told he could be breaking the law if he culled the animal, however he was told that it is also illegal to release grey squirrels into the wild.
He told BBC Radio Gloucestershire his garden has been home to the creatures for a number of months. "Over the past two years I've been plagued with squirrels that love my trees but now they've invaded my house," he said. "They've caused quite a lot of damage by first breaking into the loft space, and last year they gnawed through the copper cold water filler tap to my upstairs cistern. You could see the teeth marks on the copper pipe."
Mr Drane then caught one of the squirrels by setting up a trap in the loft.
"I told the RSPCA and they told me that I couldn't kill it, nor could I release it. It's rather absurd."
Mr Drane had to pay ^70 for a pest controller to deal with the animal.
John Bryant, who is an animal welfare consultant, explained why he couldn't release the squirrel: "Where he went wrong was failing to get advice before he started. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 lists animals, birds and plants which it is an offence to release into the environment once it has been captured. It may seem ridiculous that you can't release a squirrel once you've caught one, even though there are 3 million of them in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom). But a Grey Squirrel is an American species not a British Species and is in the same category as Japanese Knot Weed. These laws were brought in to stop people from bringing animals into the country from all over the world and releasing them when they could cause problems, as the grey squirrel in this case has."
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) says that it is not illegal to kill a Grey Squirrel, but the species is protected by the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 which makes it an offence to cause them any unnecessary suffering, therefore they must be killed humanly.

Ah, so that's the answer: "they must be killed humanly." 

[JayMac]

So a dog with a flick-knife is a big no-no?

[Tim]

The RSPCA is yet another organisation taking a perfectly reasonable law and gold plating it.

The only requirement on the vicar is that he kills the animal humanely.  I didn't imagine for a moment he intended to subject it to any cruelty. 

[Phil]

Presumably a vicar being a vicar, there's options available to him other than killing it humanely.

By divine intervention, for example.

(or with aplogies to bignosemac, an "act of dog")

[vacman]

Is stupid really, grey squirrels have already taken over the countryside so releasing one more back is hardly going to make a difference!

[inspector_blakey]

I know some people in Washington DC^▸ (Direct Current) who ended up in a very similar situation - they had a possum, classified as vermin, living somewhere it shouldn't have been (I think in their garage or shed), then one day discovered it had managed to get itself trapped in their bin. Forget the exact details but the upshot was they they called the District pest control service who sent a person round. This person apparently ended up telling them with a straight face that it was illegal to release the animal (since it's vermin) but also illegal to kill it, and I think started muttering vague threats about taking action against them for "trapping" the daft animal in the first place!

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Baby squirrel rescued by gun-dog

An injured red squirrel that was sniffed out by a trained gun-dog is now recovering in Scottish SPCA care.

The seven-week-old squirrel was rescued by the animal welfare charity after a dog walker found him on a forest floor near Auchtermuchty on 10 October.

The springer spaniel, "pointed" to the squirrel, which was struggling to move and his owner picked the squirrel up and carried him home in his hat.

The dog owner then contacted the Scottish SPCA for help. A local Inspector collected the young squirrel and transported him to the charity's wildlife rescue centre in Fife where staff have named him Hamish.

Centre manager Colin Seddon said, "It's likely that Hamish lost his balance while out exploring the trees and landed on the ground. He did have a sore leg when he first came in to us, probably due to the fall, but he seems to be doing much better now. Hamish has started to feed himself so we will keep handling to a minimum from now on. This means that when he's fully fit we can return him to his natural habitat as a truly wild animal with the best chance of survival."

Red squirrels are protected in Scotland, as populations are squeezed out by more dominant grey squirrels.

[Red Squirrel]

Up and about pretty early for me - but where was I?

[JayMac]

In Cafe Loco, Worcester Foregate Street?

[Red Squirrel]

Didn't think it would take you long, BNM!

OK: What was I sitting on?

[JayMac]

Your tail? 

[Red Squirrel]

Also correct! I can see I'm going to have to get up earlier in the morning!

[JayMac]

I do like that 'District Railway' notice requesting, "PLEASE DO NOT - Relieve the calls of nature from the window".