Brother in law shooting grey squirrels

[NettleMania]

Is this an okay thing to do? AIBU to have a go if it's in his own garden?

I'm a bit conflicted as I have a live and let live attitude towards animals, but BIL swears it's not illegal to shoot them, that they're vermin and have chased off all our native red squirrels and that they're eating all the food he puts out for the birds.

He has tried other ways to get rid of them, but they are determined. My DS just shrugs and carries on with her knitting!

@FestiveMayo

I was thinking more someone might see the rifle or hear the squirrel screaming.

And? It's legal to have air rifles without a licence and shotguns with a licence. And police visits are a normal part of that. If you buy a gun, you expect police visits.

I live in Northumberland which is pretty much the last red squirrel stronghold left in England.

We are actively encouraged to kill greys by the local council and other agencies. The local groups have hotlines to ring for grey spotting and they will come out and kill them if you report sighting a grey.

@JunoMcDuff ah ok fair enough. Still can't imagine any one shooting a squirrel in my inner city area and not causing a bit of panic if seen/ heard

Not to mention I've never heard of anyone having squirrels nesting in their house They sound like tiny demons, stomping their feet in temper. And they do one hell of a lot of damage.

[quote FestiveMayo]@JunoMcDuff ah ok fair enough. Still can't imagine any one shooting a squirrel in my inner city area and not causing a bit of panic if seen/ heard[/quote]
You'd be really unlikely to hear it. They aren't loud.

They do sometimes get mistaken for handguns, in the same way BB guns do, but it doesn't really cause issues.

[quote FestiveMayo]@JunoMcDuff ah ok fair enough. Still can't imagine any one shooting a squirrel in my inner city area and not causing a bit of panic if seen/ heard[/quote]
An inner city area yes, but seeing people with air rifles / shotguns in the countryside isn't so unusual and wouldn't usually give cause for concern.

I've got one of those electricuting tennis rackets for flying bugs. Is this any different?

As with several PP posters I live in a red squirrel area and over the last 5 years we have started to see so many that they are a common sight and no longer remarked upon. This has mainly been achieved through killing greys. You can do it yourself and if you can't phone someone to come and do it for you.

It was human interference that brought them here in the first please so a duty is on human's to fix the mess they have made.

Also foxes are declining in the UK, quite significantly.

The reason why there are hardly any squirrels in the UK is due to habitat loss ( human cause) and humans killing them over the centuries. I find it very hypocritical not to mention cruel to kill greys who are just tying to survive.

Also red squirrels are not actually endangered species- they are just rare in the UK- there are loads of them in mainland europe.

The concept of vermin is also odd - basically it seems to be used to describe any animals which are opportunitstic and take advantage of humans ( and why not- we do the same).

So basically yes he is unreasonable and cruel!

@KittyDee
There are 2.5 million grey squirrels in UK compared to 140,000 red squirrels. Squirrels in general are not in decline and there hasn’t been habitat loss. Actually opposite because of rewiliding efforts and the fact that agricultural land is being used for new housing, not forested land. The red squirrels are in decline because of the grey squirrels. Not humans. Although humans introduced the grey squirrels so are partly to blame.

@Polmuggle

Do people who thing this is disgusting also think trapping and poisoning rats/mice is disgusting?

I am assuming the grey squirrels have not moved into his house, so yes it is disgusting. I don't have a particular problem with mouse and rats outside my property and if they were becoming a nuisance, there are humane ways of getting rid of them that don't involve poisoning.

It's fine to kill squirrels. It's basically the same as killing a mouse or a rat and you can buy traps for them in the supermarket.

@HarrietsChariot

It's fine to kill squirrels. It's basically the same as killing a mouse or a rat and you can buy traps for them in the supermarket.

It's not fine at all. God this is exactly what is wrong with the world. People disgust me. I am so glad I am raising my kids to cherish every living being and not put some above others.

Lastly (but only because I am boring you), most hunted animals (whether hunted from someone's bedroom window, or pursued through the forests), have fellow creatures witness their terrifying deaths - do you think that that does not transmit the fear to those watching, or does that not matter either?
Pretty sure that zebra are pretty scared when a lioness takes down one of their herd. Does the lioness stop out of concern for zebra feelings? The natural world is a pretty brutal place, there is no euthanasia, no palliative care.

@NettleMania

Is this an okay thing to do? AIBU to have a go if it's in his own garden?

I'm a bit conflicted as I have a live and let live attitude towards animals, but BIL swears it's not illegal to shoot them, that they're vermin and have chased off all our native red squirrels and that they're eating all the food he puts out for the birds.

He has tried other ways to get rid of them, but they are determined. My DS just shrugs and carries on with her knitting!

Can he come and get rid of the pesky pigeons too, the flying vermin?

@dworky

He needs watching. Men who take pleasure in harming/killing animals generally enjoy harming children.

Utter garbage! Whisper it dear but, women also shoot!

I guess for some people it is fine to kills squirrels and they are well within their rights to do so, but I would quietly look upon someone that views a harmless creature as something that needs to eradicated, as a person somewhat lacking in compasion and a little magic in their life, if they fail to see how much nicer the world is with a variety of animals in it.

It's not fine at all. God this is exactly what is wrong with the world. People disgust me. I am so glad I am raising my kids to cherish every living being and not put some above others.

Utterly vegan? Check every purchase, insurers, pension pots, etc?

The big problem with Grey squirrels is they carry a disease that they are very resistant to. Red Squirrels are very susceptible to it, nearly always die.
Greys are good at raiding birds nests and they will eat eggs and young birds. Another reason why we are losing songbirds.

No issue at all, I grew up shooting grey squirrels as vermin. My grandfather used to poison and trap them. It wasn’t that long ago that the Post Office would pay you for each grey squirrel tail you presented (before my time but my father certainly used to do it).

It’s a quick humane way to kill them.

what if the squirrel is injured?

My parents live int he country and a lot of people dispose of grey squirrels.
Some use air rifles.
Some use humane traps and then kill them, this is to be sure the squirrel dies and does not go away injured

@steppemum

It’s a quick humane way to kill them.

what if the squirrel is injured?

My parents live int he country and a lot of people dispose of grey squirrels.
Some use air rifles.
Some use humane traps and then kill them, this is to be sure the squirrel dies and does not go away injured

You use another bullet. Double tap. You never leave an injured animal suffering.

So the UK native red squirrel was entirely extinct in Britain and all current red squirrels are due to reintroduction?
And this UK red squirrel extinction occurred prior to the introduction of greys?

I wasn't aware of either of those things, what caused the reds to become extinct? Obviously habitat loss is the obvious answer but I would have thought at least in Scotland there would have been enough Caledonian Pine forest left for some small pockets of UK native reds to have clung on?