On the instructions of SWMBO, went to a local garden centre,
whilst SWMBO was doing her investigation of the shrubs, I
looked at the accessories, and I was horrified to find a
Squirrel Feeder!

Surely it must be illegal to sell something designed to
encourage vermin.

--
alan

reply to alan(dot)holmes27(at)virgin(dot)net

On the instructions of SWMBO, went to a local garden centre,
whilst SWMBO was doing her investigation of the shrubs, I
looked at the accessories, and I was horrified to find a
Squirrel Feeder!

Surely it must be illegal to sell something designed to
encourage vermin.



Apparently not. You only have to look at the amount of cat food there is
about AND the adverts on TV

Mike

--
H.M.S.Collingwood Ass. Llandudno 20 - 23 May Trip to Portmeirion
National Service (RAF) Ass. Cosford 24 - 27 June Spitfire Fly Past
H.M.S.Impregnable Ass. Sussex 1 - 4 July Visit to Int. Fest of the Sea
RAF Regiment Assoc. Scarborough 2 - 5 Sept. Visit to Eden Camp

"Mike" wrote in message
...

On the instructions of SWMBO, went to a local garden centre,
whilst SWMBO was doing her investigation of the shrubs, I
looked at the accessories, and I was horrified to find a
Squirrel Feeder!

Surely it must be illegal to sell something designed to
encourage vermin.



Apparently not. You only have to look at the amount of cat food there is
about AND the adverts on TV
A lovely sight to behold is one of our favorite squirrels sitting on the
window sill looking into out rec room waiting for his daily supply of
peanuts...HW

Mike

--
H.M.S.Collingwood Ass. Llandudno 20 - 23 May Trip to Portmeirion
National Service (RAF) Ass. Cosford 24 - 27 June Spitfire Fly Past
H.M.S.Impregnable Ass. Sussex 1 - 4 July Visit to Int. Fest of the Sea
RAF Regiment Assoc. Scarborough 2 - 5 Sept. Visit to Eden Camp

Surely it must be illegal to sell something designed to
encourage vermin.

Switch off your engine and wait a couple of minutes, and a company of red
squirrels will come to entertain you with their acrobatics. It's worth
going for that alone.

I'd agree, but not the awful grey vermin.
DaveK.

Alan Holmes wrote:
On the instructions of SWMBO, went to a local garden centre,
whilst SWMBO was doing her investigation of the shrubs, I
looked at the accessories, and I was horrified to find a
Squirrel Feeder!

Surely it must be illegal to sell something designed to
encourage vermin.

At the risk of being flamed, grey squirrels aren't vermin. Chambers defines
vermin as "a collective name for wild animals that spread disease or
generally cause a nuisance..." Yes, when they were first introduced (for
which we have the Victorians to thank - or blame, depending on your point of
view) the carried a disease (the name of which I cannot recall) which
decimated the red population. These days, the greys are no longer carriers
and reds have developed immunity. The main issue these days is habitat, but
even that isn't so much of an issue as reds prefer coniferous forest (as
pine seeds form a large part of their diet) and greys broadleaved woodland.
I am of the firm belief that, if the greys are managed, there is no reason
why the two species cannot live in harmony.

Besides, these days, 'vermin' is a very subjective issue. Many consider
foxes and badgers vermin; I do not. Whether badgers carry bovine TB is still
very much open to debate - there has been no firm evidence to prove their
guilt.

And, as has been stated, some consider the domestic cat vermin. I, as a
felinophile, again do not. They cause very little nuisance and they
certainly do not carry disease (some are still labouring under the
misapprehension that foxes carry rabies - they do not). TTBOMK, there hasn't
been a rabid fox in Britain for nearly a century.

I have two squirrel feeders in my garden. And no, it isn't vermin - they are
neither a nuisance, nor do they carry disease. The only charge that can be
levelled at the grey squirrel is that they are partial to birds' eggs; but,
unless someone with more knowledge than I corrects me, I do not believe that
they have had a significant impact on the avian population of these islands
(besides, reds eat birds' eggs too, as do hedgehogs and quite a few members
of the weasel family).

So, live and let live, I say. Bullfinches were considered vermin (yes, I
know the term is associated with mammals, but there is no reason why it
can't also apply to birds) because they had a taste for fruit tree blossom,
but I haven't seen a bullfinch in my garden now for, well it must be getting
on towards a decade and I would welcome their return; they are considered
endangered by the RSPB (as are starlings and house sparrows).


--
In memory of MS MVP Alex Nichol: http://www.dts-l.org/

On Thu, 14 Apr 2005 00:05:03 +0100, "Miss Perspicacia Tick"
wrote:


I have two squirrel feeders in my garden. And no, it isn't vermin - they are
neither a nuisance, nor do they carry disease. The only charge that can be
levelled at the grey squirrel is that they are partial to birds' eggs; but,
unless someone with more knowledge than I corrects me, I do not believe that
they have had a significant impact on the avian population of these islands
(besides, reds eat birds' eggs too, as do hedgehogs and quite a few members
of the weasel family).

Just try keeping them out of a fruit cage containing Cherries. We've
spent most of this week and will be spending a good deal of next week
fixing wire netting over the top of ours.

=================================================

Rod

Weed my email address to reply.
http://website.lineone.net/~rodcraddock/index.html

Rod wrote:
On Thu, 14 Apr 2005 00:05:03 +0100, "Miss Perspicacia Tick"
wrote:


I have two squirrel feeders in my garden. And no, it isn't vermin -
they are neither a nuisance, nor do they carry disease. The only
charge that can be levelled at the grey squirrel is that they are
partial to birds' eggs; but, unless someone with more knowledge than
I corrects me, I do not believe that they have had a significant
impact on the avian population of these islands (besides, reds eat
birds' eggs too, as do hedgehogs and quite a few members of the
weasel family).

Just try keeping them out of a fruit cage containing Cherries. We've
spent most of this week and will be spending a good deal of next week
fixing wire netting over the top of ours.

=================================================

Rod

Weed my email address to reply.
http://website.lineone.net/~rodcraddock/index.html

OK, Rod, I will concede you have a point. The squirrels in my garden do not
eat my fruit (that 'job' is done by wasps, which I *do* consider vermin)
but, then again, I do not grow cherries (raspberries, strawberries, plums,
currants (all varieties) and apples - oh and blackberries).

We lost 90% of our plum crop to wasps last year and about 75% of the apples.
I was also extremely badly stung trying to pick the remainder (I do not go
into anaphylactic shock, but my whole arm was swollen for a fortnight).

I did post here once asking for something to eradicate them, but my post
received no replies so, either no-one else suffers from such bad
infestations (we removed a nest from the loft, but they're coming from
elsewhere, because the numbers did not reduce).

The birds take the currants (only the red, though, not the black or white,
because, IIRC, birds cannot see black and white very well) but we still had
enough last year to keep us in jelly the entire winter.

Birds I don't mind - I just wish I could be rid of the damned wasps! Please
if anyone has a solution, then tell me!


--
In memory of MS MVP Alex Nichol: http://www.dts-l.org/