Eating squirrel meat is on the rise in Britain:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/di...tml?ref=dining

"While some have difficulty with the cuteness versus deliciousness
ratio — that adorable little face, those itty-bitty claws — many feel
that eating squirrel is a way to do something good for the environment
while enjoying a unique gastronomical experience.

"With literally millions of squirrels rampaging throughout England,
Scotland and Wales at any given time, squirrels need to be controlled
by culls. This means that hunters, gamekeepers, trappers and the
Forestry Commission (the British equivalent of forest rangers) provide
a regular supply of the meat to British butchers, restaurants, pté
and pasty makers and so forth.

"The situation is more than simply a matter of having too many
squirrels. In fact, there is a war raging in Squirreltown: invading
interlopers (gray squirrels introduced from North America over the
past century or more) are crowding out a British icon, the indigenous
red squirrel immortalized by Beatrix Potter and cherished by
generations since. The grays take over the reds’ habitat, eat
voraciously and harbor a virus named squirrel parapox (harmless to
humans) that does not harm grays but can devastate reds. (Reports
indicate, though, that the reds are developing resistance.)

"“When the grays show up, it puts the reds out of business,” said
Rufus Carter, managing director of the Patchwork Traditional Food
Company, a company based in Wales that plans to offer squirrel and
hazelnut pté on its British Web site, patchwork-pate.co.uk."

Let us contemplate the image of "millions of squirrels rampaging
throughout England," and shudder.
--
modom

ambitious when it comes to fiddling with meat