NEWS AND OPINION: The host of the Russian talk show 60 Minutes, Olga Skabeyeva, said:
“In the once Great Britain it was revealed today that some restaurants will be serving squirrels in view of the fact that there are plenty of animals in the park, so why not eat them? Bear in mind there is a food shortage. But they are not stepping back from the decision to help Zelensky by supplying weapons. They will eat squirrels but supply howitzers.”
Putin is irritated by Britain’s support of Ukraine. Putin feels that he is fighting the entire West because many countries in the West are supplying armament to support Ukraine. So, the mouthpiece of Putin which is this talk show want to take a pop at Great Britain. They invent a story.
And this is pure fiction. To say that there is a food shortage in the UK is ridiculous. There’s too much food in the UK! That’s why a significant proportion of the population is obese! They eat too much. I wish there was a food shortage because I think it would ease the pressure on the NHS as obesity causes diabetes and diabetes is a serious burden on the NHS.
The fact of the matter is that squirrels have been eaten in the UK for many, many years. Recently there was a suggestion that when they are culled, they should be cooked. Personally, I disagree entirely with the idea of culling any animal including squirrels. And these are gray squirrels. They are killed to protect red squirrels which is speciesism. I don’t agree with it but that’s my personal viewpoint.
But the idea of cooking them after culling them has probably led to this Russian fake news story.
The idea also led to a cookery segment on ITV’s This Morning where Phil Vickery, the resident chef, cooked a squirrel risotto according to The Times newspaper.
The head of a conservation drive in Exmoor, Kerry Hosegood, said that the Russian news item is unhelpful to the project of eating squirrel. She said that it is not controversial to eat them and added:
“The culling of squirrels has happened for decades; all we are saying is don’t waste them. They’re no different to any other animal. They’re sold across the country and eaten across the country anyway. They breed too quickly and they’re opportunistic feeders.”
As I said, I disagree with this. I actually feed grade squirrels which I’m sure my neighbours dislike. It attracts pigeons which my neighbours also dislike. Some people hate gray squirrels. But I like to treat all animals as if they are equal. I totally reject speciesism in the interests of equality across the board between all animals in between animals and people.
FYI gray squirrels were introduced to England from North America in the late 1800s. They were intended to decorate the grounds of stately homes. Nowadays they take pot shots at them because they’ve become too numerous. Humans hate it when an animal becomes as successful and them in terms of breeding.
There are an estimated 2.5 million gray squirrels in Britain. They are non-native to Britain. People generally don’t like non-native species. There are 140,000 native red squirrels by comparison.
The female news presenter that I mention early on in the article is nicknamed “Putin’s Iron Doll”. She’s made similar remarks before. I’m told that she said that Russians living in the West would be arrested if Ukraine lost the war. And earlier she threatened that Russia would use nuclear weapons on Downing Street and the White House!
Putin’s television outlets like to paint a picture of immorality in the West. They think we are a decadent society but they also think that Ukraine is full of neo-Nazis and that the West is intent on destroying Russia. Putin is paranoid and his paranoia is killing tens of thousands of its on people and the citizens of Ukraine.
