Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
"Nutty flavoured" squirrel pie, anyone...?
From today's Metro:
A Budgens grocery store in Crouch End, North London is currently selling squirrel meat for £3 each and campaigners claim it is committing ‘wildlife massacre’.
Vegetarians International Voice for Animals (Viva) says Budges are supporting a ‘barbaric and needles cull’ of grey squirrels by allowing the independently-owned Budgens branch to sell the meat.
Viva’s founder Juliet Gellatley said: ‘Culls’ of thousands of grey squirrels by so-called conservation groups to boost populations of red squirrels are irrational, inhumane and destined to fail, so it is very sad that Budges are allowing profit to be made from wildlife massacre.’
Actress and fellow Viva patron Jenny Seagrove also spoke out against the new line of meat, saying it was ‘unbelievable’.
‘Anyone who cares about wildlife, as I do, should be appalled at Budgens for allowing this.’
The popular woodland creatures, which are also a tourist attraction in London parks, were once a staple of the national diet and made into soups, pies and casseroles.
They are said to have a nutty flavour but taste similar to rabbit, and have also been recently sold in various butchers.
One butcher, who sells the meat in Walton, Somerset, sells ten squirrels per week for less than £3 each and told the Daily Mail that customers try it through novelty but come back and buy more.
A spokesperson from Musgrave, which operates Budgens, told the newspaper: ‘As our retailers are independent, they therefore have both the right and ability to secure products that Budgens do not offer for sale, within their individually-owned stores.
A Budgens grocery store in Crouch End, North London is currently selling squirrel meat for £3 each and campaigners claim it is committing ‘wildlife massacre’.
Vegetarians International Voice for Animals (Viva) says Budges are supporting a ‘barbaric and needles cull’ of grey squirrels by allowing the independently-owned Budgens branch to sell the meat.
Viva’s founder Juliet Gellatley said: ‘Culls’ of thousands of grey squirrels by so-called conservation groups to boost populations of red squirrels are irrational, inhumane and destined to fail, so it is very sad that Budges are allowing profit to be made from wildlife massacre.’
Actress and fellow Viva patron Jenny Seagrove also spoke out against the new line of meat, saying it was ‘unbelievable’.
‘Anyone who cares about wildlife, as I do, should be appalled at Budgens for allowing this.’
The popular woodland creatures, which are also a tourist attraction in London parks, were once a staple of the national diet and made into soups, pies and casseroles.
They are said to have a nutty flavour but taste similar to rabbit, and have also been recently sold in various butchers.
One butcher, who sells the meat in Walton, Somerset, sells ten squirrels per week for less than £3 each and told the Daily Mail that customers try it through novelty but come back and buy more.
A spokesperson from Musgrave, which operates Budgens, told the newspaper: ‘As our retailers are independent, they therefore have both the right and ability to secure products that Budgens do not offer for sale, within their individually-owned stores.
Tags for Forum Posts: Budgens
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
-
At last. The shocking truth about what really happened to Willy Weasel.
-
Permalink Reply by Birdy_Too on
-
For me (vegetable for twenty years!) there's no difference in this, and as Will said the other flesh on offer, at least the squirrels have had a sniff of freedom, something that the other pre-packed flesh cubes haven't had.
Viva are the UKs answer to PeTA and thrive on publicity, I think their remarks are applicable to all the meat industry but obviously that wouldn't make the news.
-
Permalink Reply by james walsh on
-
Other meats the british don't consume that other cultures are happy to.
Most fresh water fish. Cat, Crocodile, All birds, Dog, Donkey, Elephant, Emu, Fox, Giraffe, Horse, Hippo, Kangaroo, Lion (all big cats), Monkey, Ostrich, Rats and all rodents, All snakes... .. . Etc etc.
-
-
. . . . not forgetting Longpig and Hairless goat - both delicacies to die for.
-
Permalink Reply by Alison P on
-
Birdy2/Will - totally agree. Compare the life of a squirrel, however it meets its maker, with a battery hen or a dairy cow. And think about the numbers involved - couple of 100 squirrels on sale in N8 vs the 1000s and 1000s of farmed animals that Britain chows through every day. All PR and spin.
-
Permalink Reply by Hugh on
-
Just checking in quickly.
Thank you Kit and commenters for a wonderful few moments!
Do squirrels go well with gooseberries??
-
-
better in a Giant rhubarb sauce with a side salad of Japanese knotweed.
-
-
Knew I'd something about squirrel & knotweed somewhere. Do you still have the recipe OAE?
-
-
Sorry Hugh, can't divulge. About to open my new CrouchEnd restaurant.
-
Permalink Reply by Sarah Moore on
-
Well put Will Hoyle. There is such misguided sentimentality and ultimately hypocrisy over the fluffy creatures such as Squirrel Nutkins, Peter Rabbit and Mr. Badger, whilst ignoring the daily grotesque abuse of factory farmed meat which feeds the insatiable production of cheap meat with hormone and antibiotic infused meat. This disgusting system is keeping the population sick and increasingly fat. Bravo to Andrew Thornton of Budgens for yet again making brave and admirable statements about our dysfunctional food buying habits with the many hundreds of examples of better food choices which exist within the walls of the Crouch End store, and the roof too (roof top allottment - Food from the Sky). I'm heading down to the meat counter with designs on a squirrel marinade.
© 2024 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
