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© 2014 AFPBrits go nuts over squirrel burgers
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© 2014 AFP
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Jennifer Richardson
@ Thunderbird2
Thanks for clarifying. It's a shame there's so little wildlife in the cities; I can understand wanting to preserve it.
bass4funk
What's with the American bashing?
We are NOT a collective unit of people, the same as NOT all Europeans are liberals in their thinking. Some like to hunt animals, some have farms and some don't. If ANY Americans complain about killing it might be people from the city as in MOST countries, people have a different attitude towards life than people that are raised in the countryside.
And that's your choice, but if we like to hunt, that is also OUR choice, people outside the US don't have to like it, it's perfectly ok. People are entitled to have their beliefs, but to bash an entire country as thinking and doing everything as a monolithic group is really absurd.
They can also visit the zoo.
Thunderbird2
Jennifer, my remarks were aimed at the American posters who frequently post about going out 'squirl' hunting, deer stalking or whatever doe-eyed animal gets into their cross-hairs, not at any one person... and it's normally the American posters who rave about killing the local fauna.
You work and live on a farm... fine, but like I said, it wasn't aimed at any one person. People in Britain tend not to hunt like our American cousins... we like our wildlife alive for the most part. Kids in cities see so little wildlife, and squirrels in parks are the probably the most they will see beyond birds and the odd glimpse of an urban fox or rat.
Jennifer Richardson
@Thunderbird2
I can't tell if that comment was directed specifically at me (it seems like it) or more generally, but...
Certainly there are other things to eat, at least in my location, I just hate driving (and am really bad at it) and hate grocery stores, so why waste fossil fuels & money going into town to buy CAFO meat (all that's available in my small town) when I could easily hunt or fish instead?
I'm a rancher and I grow eggs and produce for local markets, so certainly I don't rule out farms as an option, but supplementing the diet with "wildlife" allows more land to remain forested or otherwise undeveloped while still providing for human needs, and is generally less intensive in terms of water use, soil loss, feedstock production, etc. than is animal farming. In addition, having removed most of the carnivores (and virtually all of the large carnivores) from our ecosystems, there is often ecological benefit to culling overpopulated native prey animals such as certain squirrels, rabbits, deer, etc. as well as destructive invasive species such as the grey squirrels in Britain or feral hogs here, and it's wasteful not to utilize that meat, since meat production in the form of domesticated animals puts such a strain on natural resources. All wildlife is not created equal, and not all of it should be a target for preservation. I manage a substantial property, and the effects of allowing certain species to get out of control can be very detrimental--most notably to other wildlife.
To each his own. I think it's tasty, convenient, economical, nutritionally superior, ecologically beneficial, and environmentally responsible. I can live with being thought tasteless, I suppose, although I find your snobbery a bit baffling. I can understand why someone might find such things personally distasteful if they're not accustomed to them, but it seems snooty and irrational to judge others for it. What's so superior about slaughtering a domesticated pig that comes up to you wanting to have its back scratched versus shooting a feral hog, squirrel, or deer? Most animal farming operations, and consequently the vast majority of the meat available in supermarkets and restaurants here in the US, are incredibly destructive, unhealthful, and terrible for their communities and employees in a multitude of ways. If supporting that system is tasteful and civilized, then I'd rather be an ignorant yokel.
Well, I'm a girl, and the squirrels can literally be shot from the comfort of my living room while they sit there snacking on my tree nuts, so it's not like I'm out wrestling bears or something. Even if I were killing the squirrels with my bare hands and teeth, it would hardly be impressive, since they weigh like a pound. And the article was originally about Brits eating squirrels, so I don't see how Americans can really be singled out for this one.
Serrano
"Wildlife should be left off the table. Unless you are living in the heart of a famine zone, nibbling squirrels or munching on a hedgehog shows a distinct lack of taste... unless one is a macho American who feels the need to go "huntin' squirls" to prove his manhood. "
Whereas people who buy their meat at a supermarket which has been hacked off slaughtered animals shows distinct taste, lol.
Thunderbird2
Must be fun living in the wilds of America, nothing to eat but the local wildlife... no restaurants, cafes or even supermarkets where you can buy your meals or food like civilised human being; food taken from farms... places which exist so we don't have to snack on the wildlife.
Wildlife should be left off the table. Unless you are living in the heart of a famine zone, nibbling squirrels or munching on a hedgehog shows a distinct lack of taste... unless one is a macho American who feels the need to go "huntin' squirls" to prove his manhood.
Tea anyone?
Mocheake
PETA should change their acronym to PITA (pain in the a ). Maybe if they tried some meat they wouldn't be wound so tightly. No mustard on my tree rodent burger, please.
Jennifer Richardson
I eat squirrel all the time (barbecued, fried, or in stew), but I've never tried squirrel burgers. Might have to give it a shot. I find the grocery store stressful, so I frequently pop off a squirrel from the yard or nearby woods with my .22 and cook it up. Way less hassle than bigger game or a trip into town, and I find the flavor quite appealing, not gamey. Especially in places where they're pests, it seems great to put them to use. Sensible management and harvesting of wild game is far less environmentally destructive and more sustainable than the vast majority of livestock farming, particularly when you're talking about invasive species. Here in Texas, invasive feral hogs are a big problem (displacing native wildlife, damaging riparian areas, detrimentally affecting the ecology, and causing billions of dollars of damage to crops and pasture lands) and their population is rapidly expanding despite hunters taking large numbers of them every year. There's a program, I think in Houston, to trap large numbers of them, process them, and serve them at the local food bank, which I think is great. I take one or two every year myself for sausage, but they are a bit of a pain to hunt because they're nocturnal and quite wary, and they no longer come into small traps, only large pen traps.
bass4funk
In California, we eat a lot of Ostrich, Emu and Buffalo, in the South they often eat Snake Gator, Musk rat, Raccoon and Opossum.
So I don't think eating Chip or Dale would be any different, if you cook it right, make sure the meat was inspected that it wasn't loaded with vermin, why not, could be tasty.
OssanAmerica
I've eaten squirrel in Brunswick Stew. Tastes just like chicken but with a "nutty" flavor. Seriously, no joke. Problem is I wonder how many squirrels are needed for 115 grams? I remember dressing squirrels and remember there is like zero usable meat other than the two thighs. Anyway, I wouldn't bother with hunting much less eating squirrels but if money is being spent on eradication programs they might as well as put the protein to use. They should let the many Chinese restaurants in he UK prepare them, I'll bet they'd be fantastic.
Thunderbird2
I'm so glad that I'm an unadventurous pleb who likes cute animals alive.
Serrano
I've eaten squirrel stew. No worse than beef stew.
25psot
Squirrel burger is as shocking as Cannibal burger.
Thunderbird2
I live next to a large park and grey squirrels come into the garden every day... and we feed them nuts. We like them, as does everyone in the area. To me they are wildlife, same as the foxes that come into the garden, the hedgehogs, birds and the field mice. So from a personal perspective I don't have issues with them.
Where they are an issue, as in destroying trees and eating the native red squirrels out of house and home, then yes they should have some kind of control, but it has to be humane and cause no suffering. We have laws against animal suffering. (Unlike Brian Wheway above I don't want to see a cull on foxes, they are on the only large predator left in the UK... we wiped everything else out thanks to farmers and land owners)
I will never understand why some people in the UK want to serve what the majority of us consider weird or unpallatable food. We as a nation are eating less rabbit and lamb, so the niche markets where squiggies and, heaven forbid, horses are served are remaining niche. There IS a line most of us won't cross. We don't need to eat wild animals... we are not hunter gatherers any more... which is why most people in Britain prefer to eat meat from farmed animals... you know, those places in the country where animals are bred for their meat. We're not a nation of puppy munchers or pony nibblers.
smig1975
Yeah i agree the 66/1 quote sounds along way off, more like 10000s/1 , almost like its been made up. If you're ok with eating fish & cow, then why not squirrel & dog.
Brian Wheway
squirrels are a pest in the UK I've seen the damage they do 1 they strip bark of trees killing them also 2 I've seen the devastation where they have got into peoples lofts, and they have stripped out timber from the loft, also chewed through electric cables, house and burglar alarms causing thousands of pounds of damage. 66/1 i would say is very conservative more like 10,000/1 as the red squirrel is only found in a few pockets in scotland. yes they are fluffy but so is a rat but every one hates them to! I won't get onto the subject of foxes, there needs to be a cull on them as well.
fds
hmmm....taiwanese squirrels are a problem in japan....
ZombieNemesis
Interesting idea, normally squirrel is made into stew.
You'll want to make sure they are fully cooked, you can get trichinosis from eating undercooked squirrel.
Probably get 2 to 3 patties out of a squirrel but it would be a lot of work to debone it.
Squirrel is a managed resource in the US with controlled hunting seasons. Millions are harvested every year.
Elizabeth Heath
Squirrels are vermin. Kill them, eat them, - I don't care, just get rid of the grey nuisances. The headline is very misleading though - a few hundred people doesn't mean that 'Brits' (sic) in general have eaten a squirrel burger, let alone enjoyed it.
shonanbb
Squirrels are cute. That twitchy tail makes me laugh.
Will they be served with fries?
turbotsat
How many squirrels in one burger?
Who's gonna dress all of them?
SimondB
Why not squirrels? We eat (or at least I do) cute little bunnies and adorable spring lambs. Go to Peru and you can have a roasted guinea pig on a stick. Indonesia or Korea if you fancy a skewer of dog. West Africa if you want some bush meat....................on second thoughts, scrub that last one.