"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
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On Thu, 3 Feb 2011 23:00:34 -0000, "alan.holmes"
wrote:
"BAC" wrote in message
om...
"alan.holmes" wrote in message
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"Janet" wrote in message
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In article e7ac2491-537c-4207-a553-07d9b69b7c65@
8g2000prb.googlegroups.com, says...
On Jan 31, 10:35 am, Malcolm wrote:
In article ,
writes
They are alien tree rats that destroy birds nests and trees of all
sizes.
Would you sign up for rats? Of course not. They are just rats with a
fluffy tail.
Except that squirrels are not rats ....or beavers, coypu porcupines
or
guineapigs. They are all rodents, but that does not imply that a
squirrel is a porcupine, or a rat is a beaver.
No, a squirrel is a tree rat with a fluffy tail!
So why all the fuss about them dying out, then?
No idea, they are just vermin and should be killed!
I don't always practise what I preach, but this rather potty
conversation looks like a case for engaging brain before opening
mouth. There's no fuss about grey squirrels dying out, and nobody in
his right mind thinks red squirrels should be treated as vermin.
The 'pottiness' derives from Harold and Alan's condemnation of 'squirrels'
as tree rats and vermin. They made no distinction between grey and red
squirrels. Perhaps that isn't surprising, given their view that squirrels
are rats with furry tails.
Incidentally, you are mistaken in thinking there's no fuss about grey
squirrels dying out (by being exterminated); there are plenty of people who
oppose such actions. As for red squirrels being treated as vermin, that no
longer happens, but it isn't really all that long ago that they, too, were
being described as 'tree rats', and 'squirrel clubs' were set up and
provided with free cartridges to kill them, ostensibly to protect forestry.