The Grey Squirrel Cull. 

Currently there is a cull of Grey Squirrels taking place all over the Grampian area, in an attempt to help the numbers of Red Squirrels 'recover'. Grey Squirrels were introduced to Britain from America in 1876, and at current because of their many superior traits over the Red Squirrel (not least their immunity to the Squirrelpox virus), the numbers are begining to dwarf the Red's and subsequently Red's may one day face extinction. For over one hundred years the Grey Squirrels, through no fault of their own, have been forced to make their home in Britain, and have soared in an environment that suits their characteristics. Consequently, as is the case in nature, the numbers of other connected creatures have also fluctuated to coincide with this, including the number of Red Squirrels declining due to their lesser ability to cope with British conditions - a natural occurance and progression in nature.

Due to the Red Squirrels being seen as 'British' and the Grey Squirrels as 'American' (some might say inherent racism penetrating our thoughts on native animals), wildlife and 'conservation' groups have put in place a cull in order to curb the number of Greys to preserve the number of Reds. As well as this being an inherently discriminative practice, involving the human caused suffering of squirells in order to halt the fairer, natural thinning out of Squirrel populations, it is flawed on many other levels too. Practically, due to the fact that even a small number of Greys being left meaning this problem of declining Red's will continue to occur time and time again (as the Grey Squirrel is just naturally better suited to the British environments, and so will always naturally impose itself upon the number of Red's), all Grey Squirrels will have to be killed in order for this scheme to succeed, and that is impossible. And morally, of course, it is wrong to cause suffering in order to preserve something which humans have only perceived aesthetic or nationalistic desires to see preserved - especially when this action would go completely against natural occurances. The right thing to do is to allow whichever species is naturally able to flourish, to flourish. If we can help the Red's to also survive and flourish, we should, but not at the expense of unnaturally murdering their competitors - that is a morally bankrupt answer to a problem that exists only because of aesthetic and nationalistic desires.


Further information can be found from the following source:

http://www.grey-squirrel.org.uk/index.php


Please write to the below sources with a few sentences on why you disagree with this cull, and show the organisations behind it that we don't have to accept their ill-informed decisions - and demand a higher level of intelligence and ingenuity in this and their future plans. Just a short note is needed, and the same one can be sent to all of the sources below. These groups need our support to continue the cull, so once it becomes clear they don't have it the cull will have to stop.

Evening Express: 

Evening Express
Aberdeen Journals Ltd
Lang Stracht
Mastrick
Aberdeen AB15 6DF
ee.letters@ajl.co.uk

Aberdeen Press and Journal:

Press and Journal
Aberdeen Journals Ltd
Lang Stracht
Mastrick
Aberdeen AB15 6DF
pj.editor@ajl.co.uk


To find your local MP's Address: http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/commons/l/

Please also get in contact with the groups behind the cull:

Scottish Wildlife Trust (http://www.swt.org.uk/info/contact-forms/), notice how their complaint function is currently 'unavailable', and yet they still are accepting donations towards the cull.

Scottish Natural Heritage david.bale@snh.gov.uk

Forestry Commission http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/forestry.nsf/byunique/infd-68sks4


Anti-Vivisection


We fervently campaign against Vivisection, like the Grey Squirrel cull, on both moral and practical grounds. Testing cosmetics on animals is cruel and unnecesary, as these products are not vital ones, and as such no creature should have to suffer for our luxury. Similarly testing drugs on animals is wrong on several counts. It is primarily unscientific, with more modern, effective and much more efficient techniques now avalailable to test drugs. More information can be found here: http://www.curedisease.net/ . Vivisection continues out of tradition and habit/costly changes to labs etc, in research institutes - not as it is the best form of research. On the moral side there is also a strong case against Vivisection. Medical research is ruled by codes of ethics stating that subjects must be able to give informed consent for trials to be done on them. Animals other than humans do live, and do endeavour not to suffer, and as they can not give informed consent - much like those disabled individuals who can not - they morally should not be forced into drug tests that could do them harm.

Our current campaigns are mainly based around those of Uncaged. Details of our events will be posted on our events page as soon as they are decided, please sign up to our mailing list to be notified of these events. The movement against vivisection is a global one, being staged on many fronts (both for human health, and for animal rights) and we are delighted to be able to partner with Uncaged in their many campaigns against it. Our future hopes are to become more active against vivisection on a local level too, please get in touch to join us. Local non-animal tested product stockists can be found along with vegan options in our 'Compassionate Guide to Living in Aberdeen'.



Veganism

Veganism is the very basis of animal rights. To accept the lives and rights of animals other than humans, the first step is to stop including their death and sufferings in your diet. Vegetarian ethics promote the idea that an individual should not die for your diet, Veganism takes this to it's logical conclusion by saying if we care for an individuals worth so as it shouldn't die for our tastes, then we must also care that it does not have to suffer for them. This is a logical extension of current moral beliefs, which on the whole are only applied to humans in society, but reasonably must extend to other animals in order to remain a consistent, right and fair moral belief.

Veganism means cutting animal products out of your diet - which makes no nutritional difference so long as you eat a varied plant based diet, and in the majoirty of cases will make for a much healthier and longer life. The nutritional value of meat, eggs and milk is hugely overestimated, mainly as the government produces most nutritional advice and it is within it's best interests also to keep the sales of these products high given their importance to the short-term economy (and so to get them re-elected for the next 4 years). Any good nutrionalist will tell you things like Omega 3, protein, and the rest of the 'things only in animal products' myths are in fact easily, and better obtained from healthier plant sources.

Veganism also demands the refusal of humans to wear the skin of other animals as clothing - a practice well out of date, even in consumer's minds now, but cleverly avoided by those companies using cow skin (leather) in their products, and fur trims. Faux versions of both leather and furs exist and are even available in high street shops, as well as abundantly on the internet, so even if the skin's 'look' is needed, there is no reason for anyone to need a living creature to suffer/have their life ended for a fashion.

A switch to a vegan lifestyle is easier now than it has ever been, and is by far the simplest and most effective way of taking a stand against animal cruelty, or towards the recognition of animal rights. It involves simply taking a few hours out of your year to buy different products, and yet saves on average 90 living creatures every year. There really is power in your choices. Please contact us for a free copy of our forthcoming 'Compassionate Guide to Living in Aberdeen' or join our mailing list in order to be notified when it has been posted on this website.


More information on any of these topics can be found through the Links page.