Book inView: Seldom Disappointed by Tony Hillerman – Squirrels: cute fuzzy creature, or dinner?

“It has occurred to me that social economists could learn something about measuring hard times by counting the ducks and geese surviving on state university ponds and the squirrel population in campus trees.”

- Tony Hillerman, Seldom Disappointed

In Hillerman’s very poor college days he had a friend and roommate who made squirrel stew on Sundays when they did not receive food from their dishwashing job.  My first thought was, would I eat a squirrel?  While I feel we eat far too much meat in our society, I do like to eat meat.  I try to eat meat only once a day, I keep the serving size small, I buy organic free-range.  So where do squirrels fit in? Squirrels are wild. I have no qualms about eating wild meat provided it is hunted in a sustainable way. Squirrels are a long way from endangered, and I think if given the opportunity I would give squirrel a try.

In england the burgeoning population of gray squirrels (introduced from North America) is threatening the native population of red squirrels (think Beatrix Potter). The governments solution is to cull the gray squirrels. Regardless of this being an ethical solution to the problem, it is certainly a good idea not to simply throw the dead squirrels away, but to eat the meat, and use the fur. The squirrel market is slowly growing in England, and I have to wonder how long before it starts popping up here.

For a basic overview of squirrels as food, check out this