# Upset - I Killed a Grey Squirrel



## Vintage RV Adventures (Sep 11, 2021)

I felt really bad yesterday, and to an extent I still do. 

I was driving down a busy country road near Upton upon Severn, when I came round a bend to the sight of a Grey Squirrel sat in the middle of my lane seemingly nibbling on something on the road surface. He/she then dodged left and right, not knowing which way to go. I braked really hard, also trying to pass the vehicle centre line over the top of it, but the Squirrel decided to run to one side at the last moment.

I felt the vehicle run over it, and I looked in the driver's mirror to see a seemingly lifeless body on the while centre line.

For the next half an hour and more I could not switch off my mind to wondering if the poor animal was instantly killed or whether it was otherwise.

Most people will say they are vermin and should be killed, but for me it is still an animal with feelings.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Looking on the bright side at least it wasn't a red, but not nice all the same.


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## Glandwr (Jun 12, 2006)

Be positive and think of the nice meal that you will have provided for a buzzard or kite.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Why didn’t you check that it was dead?

If it was dead it wasn’t suffering 

If it wasn’t instantly killed then it was

It’s not rocket science to determine if an animal is dead or suffering 

So half an hour of worry for you 

Come on if you really cared you would have checked

An animal with feelings?

An animal dying slowly in pain ?

You feel bad?

So you should, but not as bad maybe as that poor animal you didn’t bother to check his injuries 

Shame on you for trying to portray you cared

Sandra

But you didn’t


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## Glandwr (Jun 12, 2006)

aldra said:


> Why didn't you check that it was dead?
> 
> If it was dead it wasn't suffering
> 
> ...


What would you suggest if it wasn't dead Sandra? Dispatch it or take it to a vet?:smile2:


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Well I’d make that decision on the spot

I wouldn’t drive off and leave a dying animal

No way would I ever leave a dying animal alone

Vet or dispatch?

It wouldn’t have died alone

Sandra


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## Vintage RV Adventures (Sep 11, 2021)

aldra said:


> Shame on you for trying to portray you cared
> 
> Sandra


Says the lady who keep wild animals in captivity simply for her own pleasure. Perhaps look at your own morals before you judge others.


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## Glandwr (Jun 12, 2006)

I was brought up on a mountain farm and had, as all children like me had to , worked as soon as I could walk.

One day when I was 10 or 11 dad took me up the mountain in the landrover to cut thistles with a scythe and clear out a drainage ditch. After a while I came across a ewe. She had fallen into a small ravine and was on her last legs near death with half of her hindquarters being eaten by a writhing mass of maggots.

Horrified I ran 20 minutes back to the house only to be told off. I should have killed it and saved it nearly an hour of misery. I had a pick and showel with me he said. I grew up that day.

Grey squirrels however are vermin and I have shot many a dozen if not hundreds over the years. 

Maybe karma, but while we were away for 2 weeks about 10 years a big buck one fell down the chimney and caused enormous damage in the living room presumably being driven crazy with thirst. Even chewed half way through a window frame in an attempt to get out.

I phoned the insurance company, they logged it but later didn't entertain the claim. They said that the would if it had being a red but not a grey that they said was classified as vermin.

When I was a kid 60yrs ago we still had many reds but the greys were starting to come in. There was a bounty in the greys. Take a grey tale to the policeman and you would get a shilling. A cartridge for my 410 shotgun only cost 6d. It was game on:laugh:


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Vintage RV Adventures said:


> Says the lady who keep wild animals in captivity simply for her own pleasure. Perhaps look at your own morals before you judge others.


.????
Who keeps wild animals in captivity ?

I agree shadow was wild but he was never kept in captivity, he remained leader of his pack for his long life

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Such a shock when that happens. It is very difficult to know what to do. It can be dangerous to just stop in the road and an accident would have been your fault.


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## Vintage RV Adventures (Sep 11, 2021)

patp said:


> Such a shock when that happens. It is very difficult to know what to do. It can be dangerous to just stop in the road and an accident would have been your fault.


Exactly, thank you Pat. Yes, it was a busy country road, and I had just come round a bend. The road had two solid white lines down the centre. It was not a place to stop a vehicle, the next dead body would have been mine or that of another member of the public.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Glandwr said:


> Maybe karma, but while we were away for 2 weeks about 10 years a big buck one fell down the chimney and caused enormous damage in the living room presumably being driven crazy with thirst. Even chewed half way through a window frame in an attempt to get out.*
> 
> I phoned the insurance company, they logged it but later didn't entertain the claim. They said that the would if it had being a red but not a grey that they said was classified as vermin.*


If it happens again. Keep a can of red spray paint handy and spray the little fella before making a claim.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Wild animals are killed on the road all the time, it wouldn't occur to me to go back and check, I would for a dog or cat, but there's isn't much you can do in the real world unless you are used to ending an animals life, it is never easy, but best not to dwell on it.


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## GMJ (Jun 24, 2014)

I suspect if you heard the 'thump thump' of the wheels going over it, it was well dead!

As Kev says, it happens all the time. I try and avoid it if I can but not at the risk to myself or other roads users so you did the right thing OP.


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