Squirrels... a question

[DEAN C.]

There is only one thing that should be shot in backyards...rats...there is a no good reason for killing anything else.

I can understand your feelings, but it depends how big your back yard is. None of us should go round shooting anything for no reason.

[Steve Zodiac]

I think I’m right in saying you are not allowed to shoot any back yard wildlife .

With the exception of rats.

[angrybear]

These are genuine questions....

This month in Airgun Shooter magazine is a sizable article about back garden squirrel shooting.
Now I'll be honest from the start - I like the little critters and beyond the danger they represent to the red squirrel - I don't understand the problem they create that requires their eradication and particularly to someones backyard.
Can someone explain what the issue is or are people just looking to shoot anything?

The issue is that they are an alien invasive species & as such legally should be dispatched at any & every opportunity, it's also illegal to release a trapped grey back in to the wild.

I think I’m right in saying you are not allowed to shoot any back yard wildlife .

With the exception of rats.

While all wildlife is inherently protected by law you can shoot vermin, pest & alien invasive species.

No, the Red does not cause the same damage as the grey.

[ashf9999]

What they do do is f*** up bird feeders - even some of the 'squirrel-proof' ones. Got some Mason & Cash nut feeders with very heavy gauge mesh (stamped circles in 1mm plate - certainly not thin for a feeder) and over the course of a couple of months the little sods peeled two open at the seam...

[jm5*]

What they do do is f*** up bird feeders - even some of the 'squirrel-proof' ones. Got some Mason & Cash nut feeders with very heavy gauge mesh (stamped circles in 1mm plate - certainly not thin for a feeder) and over the course of a couple of months the little sods peeled two open at the seam...

I’ve had squirrels come down my chimney. First time it happened, I phoned RSPCA, but they weren’t interested. They said they were vermin. Over the next few weeks I had a few other visitors, so I got my chimney sweep to put caps on all of my chimney pots. They were the type that have a wire wall about 3-4 inches high with a solid cap. Job done, I thought.

We went on holiday shortly after. When we returned, there were 2 squirrels running around the house. Lots of broken stuff all over. They had eaten big chunks of lead off my leaded light windows and chewed sections of an internal wooden window frame.

Wondering how they got in this time, I looked up at my chimney pots and saw that one of them had the wire mesh wall prised open. I now make a point of burning a very smokey fire in all my fireplaces every so often.

I hear them on my roof quite regularly in the early morning and usually see them somewhere in the garden later in the morning. I usually shoot at least 3 or 4 every week. I did 4 in the same day once and it’s not an enormous garden.