"Alan Holmes" wrote in message
...

"pammyT" wrote in message
...

"Alan Holmes" wrote in message
...
Drowning is very quick,
how the hell do you figure that out? Drowning is slow and bloody cruel
and
possibly illegal as a method of killling the thing.

it would be dangerous to attempt to get them into a
sack,
as that would require opening the cage, which, if you have ever seen
one
close up,
you would not wish to get that close to.


Ya big wimp. I have been close up to them, in Canada where I fed them
from
my hand every morning, and over here where a rescue sanctuary had one in
a
large aviary.

Do you also feed the other type of rat, the ones without the furry tails?


Both squirrels and rats are rodents, so in that sense they are related.
However, the belief that some people have about greys being more closely
related to rats than red squirrels is untrue. Both reds and greys belong to
the Aplodontidae family while rats belong to the Muridae (mouse) family. The
name "tree rat" has arisen because in some people's minds they cause a
nuisance comparable to that of rats. Squirrels do not carry the potentially
dangerous diseases that rats may.

The message
from "BAC" contains these words:

Squirrels do not carry the potentially
dangerous diseases that rats may.

'Fraid they do, sometimes.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message
k...
The message
from "BAC" contains these words:

Squirrels do not carry the potentially
dangerous diseases that rats may.

'Fraid they do, sometimes.


The main disease they are said to spread is the one which has been ridding
us of red squirrels - unfortunately the greys survive the disease and then
transmit it to any reds they encounter, causing a high mortality amongst the
reds. I don't recall hearing anything about squirrels posing a significant
public health risk to humans, though, unlike rats. Some Council
Environmental Health Departments seem to be of that opinion, e.g.
http://www.havant.gov.uk/havant-2723&menupage=8

from which "The squirrel is not a pest of public health significance; in so
far that it is not a particular vector of disease."

The message
from "BAC" contains these words:
"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message
k...
The message
from "BAC" contains these words:

Squirrels do not carry the potentially
dangerous diseases that rats may.

'Fraid they do, sometimes.

The main disease they are said to spread is the one which has been ridding
us of red squirrels - unfortunately the greys survive the disease and then
transmit it to any reds they encounter, causing a high mortality amongst the
reds. I don't recall hearing anything about squirrels posing a significant
public health risk to humans, though, unlike rats. Some Council
Environmental Health Departments seem to be of that opinion, e.g.
http://www.havant.gov.uk/havant-2723&menupage=8

from which "The squirrel is not a pest of public health significance; in so
far that it is not a particular vector of disease."

My information is that any rodent can carry Weil's disease.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message
k...
The message
from "BAC" contains these words:
"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in
message
k...
The message
from "BAC" contains these words:

Squirrels do not carry the potentially
dangerous diseases that rats may.

'Fraid they do, sometimes.

The main disease they are said to spread is the one which has been
ridding
us of red squirrels - unfortunately the greys survive the disease and
then
transmit it to any reds they encounter, causing a high mortality amongst
the
reds. I don't recall hearing anything about squirrels posing a
significant
public health risk to humans, though, unlike rats. Some Council
Environmental Health Departments seem to be of that opinion, e.g.
http://www.havant.gov.uk/havant-2723&menupage=8

from which "The squirrel is not a pest of public health significance; in
so
far that it is not a particular vector of disease."

My information is that any rodent can carry Weil's disease.


See

http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/40000444/

This seems to imply that whilst any mammal may be infected by the
Leptospirosis spirochaete, the variety causing Weills Disease 'prefers'
rats. I've done a quick 'Google' linking squirrels with Weills, and not come
up with any warnings.

Given that the disease organism doesn't live long in the dry, if a squirrel
were to be infected, it would only be likely to pass the disease on to a
human if it urinated in water which was subsequently ingested by a human,
either orally or via a skin abrasion. So, people who drown squirrels could
be putting themselves at risk of infection :-)

The message
from "BAC" contains these words:

My information is that any rodent can carry Weil's disease.


See

http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/40000444/

This seems to imply that whilst any mammal may be infected by the
Leptospirosis spirochaete, the variety causing Weills Disease 'prefers'
rats. I've done a quick 'Google' linking squirrels with Weills, and not come
up with any warnings.

Indeed: rats are far more likely to carry it because of their lifestyle.

Given that the disease organism doesn't live long in the dry, if a squirrel
were to be infected, it would only be likely to pass the disease on to a
human if it urinated in water which was subsequently ingested by a human,
either orally or via a skin abrasion.

I'm always very careful when skinning them...

So, people who drown squirrels could
be putting themselves at risk of infection :-)

Well, there's that blessin^H^H^H^risk...

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/