Butcher selling squirrel runs out in three hours
The Elveden Estate butchers in Suffolk was suffering a rabbit shortage, so to make its stocks last longer, it added squirrel to the items on sale. The meat, which tastes similar to rabbit, was so popular that it sold out in three hours.
An unusually low number of rabbits this year has led to a cap on the number that can be shot each month. With game proving increasingly popular, the butcher wanted to supplement the stocks of game meat, and because squirrel tastes quite similar, he thought he would bring it into the shop to see how well it sold.
The Bury Free Press quoted Richard Howard, the shop food manager, who pointed out it was wild, nutritious, low in fat, and it had exceptionally low food miles because it came straight from the park.
The Daily Mail reported that the squirrel meat proved such a hit that it sold out in three hours.
Would you eat squirrel?
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Squirrel meat has gone in and out of fashion over the years. In times of hardship, traditionally people would catch their own squirrels to supplement the food they could afford. Clearly it hasn't been in fashion for a while now, but this year we have seen a resurgence in the popularity of grey squirrel meat.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has put it on the menu at his River Cottage Canteens, as has upmarket Westminster Curry restaurant the Cinnamon Club, St John in Smithfield, and the Jugged Hare in the Barbican. It's increasingly cropping up on the menu in trendy gastro pubs around the country. And in October last year there was a squirrel-burger cooking competition at the Forest Showcase Food and Drink Festival.
It makes perfect sense, as the number of rabbits is dwindling, and the number of squirrels is getting out of hand. The grey squirrel isn't just a menace to the indigenous red squirrel population, but can cause damage to woodlands, gardens, houses and even cars. In January this year a squirrel fell down a chimney in Hartlepool and ransacked the lounge - clawing the curtains, soiling the carpet and ruining a sofa: in a few short minutes it caused £7,000 of damage.
Squirrels are now considered such a pest that The Forestry Commission has drawn up plans that mean landowners have to get rid of grey squirrels on their estates if they want to continue to receive grants from the government. It expects tens of thousands of squirrels to be killed under the scheme. Shooting them and selling them on to butchers and restaurants makes much more sense than poisoning them and having to dispose of them.
It's a sustainable, healthy meat that helps protect the environment. Perhaps the question shouldn't be why so many people are eating squirrel - but why we aren't all eating it. But what do you think? Would you eat squirrel? Let us know in the comments.
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