OMG!!! My dog just killed a squirrel!!!

Lotus-eater

zaksmum wrote: »

Thanks picklepick. I didn't know it was illegal to treat or rescue grey squirrels without a licence - why is that?

Because they are pests.

Lance

zaksmum wrote: »

Thanks picklepick. I didn't know it was illegal to treat or rescue grey squirrels without a licence - why is that? QUOTE]


http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article3378581.ece

zaksmum

Thanks elsien, I'll remember that.

Lotus eater, in what way are they pests? What harm can they do?

elsien

I think they fall into the "vermin" category because they're not indigenous, have driven the red squirrel out of most of the country because reds are smaller and can't compete for food, and greys carry a virus which reds are particularly susceptible to. And their numbers are increasing all the time. I think they also kill trees off by gnawing through the bark so are a nuisance in conservation areas.
Think squirrel nutkin becoming extinct in the uk very soon if the greys take over the last remaining strongholds. When I visit family in Cumbria, we spot the reds occasionally, and it's really nice to see.

zaksmum

Thanks elsien. There is a red squirrel reserve not far from here, but you see the greys in all the parks and even the cemeteries.

I hadn't realised they were considered pests though. Usually they're up a tree and away when the dogs get too close but Jack was so fast, and this one had come too far from the nearest tree to get to safety.

I don't think Jack meant to hurt it, he just pounced on it and tossed it in the air which must've been what killed it, but he moved away from it without mauling it when I yelled at him to leave it.

Not that it's any consolation to the poor squirrel...I feel so guilty.

meerkat2007

Zaksmum, don't feel guilty. Look at it this way: Jack could have done the red squirrels in the reserve a huge favour by seeing off a grey that could have killed them in countless numbers by passing on squirrel pox.

Waterfalls

just to confirm really, but if a squirral is brought into the vet surgery because it is ill or injured, then we have to put them to sleep.

Skeksis

Yes, they do fall into the vermin/pest category, the control of which are covered under a general licence issued on a yearly basis by Natural England, different licences apply to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. You don't have to apply for the licence as it covers a range of pests that can be dispatched humanely and safely within current legislation.

This is from the Natural England website, http://www.naturalengland.org.uk:

The grey squirrel is an introduced species which is now common throughout most of England. However, they may become a nuisance where they gain access to buildings. Cage trapping followed by humane dispatch, and proofing access points are the methods normally recommended for use in roof spaces.

Control can either be carried out by private individuals, other occupiers or a pest control contractor. It is an offence to release or re-release grey squirrels or other non-native species (if they are not already present in the wild or if they are
listed on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981) into the wild.

This means that if you capture a grey squirrel it must be humanely killed. The Environmental Health Department of the Local Authority may also offer a service which is usually chargeable. A licence is not required to trap grey squirrels, but it is illegal to release one once caught without a licence.

I did have one in my air rifle sights not so long back, but didn't have the heart to pull the trigger!

picklepick

I only know the law re. grey squirrels because my aunt-in-law has a massive squirrel problem where she lives. She has a trap and calls the pest man to come and kill them once shes caught them. There's literally hundreds of them! I think she gets through quite a few a week. It's grim, but they get into the roof in her house!

Tropez

I can understand how you feel.

While greys are considered vermin, I would still feel a little upset if my dogs killed one. It is still a living, breathing creature with no idea of how it is viewed by the rest of us.

As a (part) whippet your dog has an enormous chase instinct. They were originally bred for hunting rabbits and hares and so any small creature such as a squirrel is fair game for them in their eyes and even the most docile of whippets can shoot off to drive down its prey. It is part of the reason some people have an awfully hard time teaching a whippet to fetch - it'll chase the object in question but will often not return it.

It isn't your fault though and nor is it your dog's and at least the squirrel would have been killed quickly, rather than suffering a mortal wound but being left to die.

One of my biggest fears as an owner of three whippets is that one day they'll catch that cat that keeps coming into my garden. I don't believe they mean it any harm but I still dred them actually catching it.