Eating invasive species

My Dad hit a pheasant on his run out to deliver bread one early winter day. Stunned it, so he took it to the side of the road and laid it in the tall grass. It was there on his way back, so he picked it up and brought it home to Mom. He had two choices from her: get rid of the pheasant, or leave! He gave the bird to a hunter friend of his...

Duck59 said:
...One of our other problem species in Britain is the American mink. There is a substantial population that mostly derives from escapees from fur farms (another good argument against fur in fashion)...
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Ah, but in this case a shrewd marketing agent might be able to craft a campaign that would make them attractive for the furring industry and consumers. Wild-caught fish is viewed more favorably than farmed fish; with the combination of the fact that it is a wild invasive species plus killing and using them for jackets helps the native fauna, how could an ad man go wrong?
 
Lynne Guinne said:
Ah, but in this case a shrewd marketing agent might be able to craft a campaign that would make them attractive for the furring industry and consumers. Wild-caught fish is viewed more favorably than farmed fish; with the combination of the fact that it is a wild invasive species plus killing and using them for jackets helps the native fauna, how could an ad man go wrong?
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I believe that the late and brilliant Bill Hicks had the right idea about what people in advertising and marketing should do.
 
Duck59 said:
This year's Shambala Festival (a music festival in England) has a theme of food based on invasive species. So, grey squirrels and American crayfish are getting munched.

As a vegetarian, I'm not going to be among the takers, but on the whole, I'm in favour. Grey squirrels have almost wiped out the native red squirrel and the crayfish, introduced in the 1960s, have caused utter mayhem in our rivers and canals.

Opinions welcome...
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Great idea! It works in so many ways - helps correct a man-made problem, gets people more in touch with nature and where food comes/can come from, reduces food processing & packaging etc. Where we used to live (a farm) we would often shoot pigeons (they were a nuisance to crops) and pan fry the breasts for lunch. Grey squirrels would also be shot, but we never got round to eating them. The taste like chicken apparently! Now we live in the middle of a village, so shooting is out of the question.
 
Recent studies have suggested that the presence of pine martens not only reduces the grey squirrel population, but has no detrimental effect on the number of red squirrels. Indeed, as greys as reduced, then reds prosper. I'm happy for both carnivorous humans and mustelids to eat grey squirrels.
 
Interesting topic.

Too bad no one has figured out how to harvest wild crawfish and use them as a seed crop for commercial production. Crawfish farming is a major industry in south Louisiana.

I remember when crawfish were considered "trash food". They were called Mud Bugs. Now the processed tails are highly prized and shipped internationally.

I do not seek out squirrel but I have eaten it and cooked it.

@morning glory

If you decide to hunt squirrels please research proper cleaning techniques first. There are glands in the groin and inner leg area that if not removed properly will ruin the meat with a very :yuck: taste.
 
ElizabethB said:
If you decide to hunt squirrels please research proper cleaning techniques first. There are glands in the groin and inner leg area that if not removed properly will ruin the meat with a very :yuck: taste.
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It's like when eating pigeon (well at least the ones in the London area). You cook the breast and chuck the rest. Even our birds of prey would only eat the breast.
 
Elawin said:
It's like when eating pigeon (well at least the ones in the London area). You cook the breast and chuck the rest. Even our birds of prey would only eat the breast.
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Pigeon breast - one of my favourite ingredients. I've not posted a recipe here with pigeon breast - so that needs addressing as soon as I can get some.
 
Here in Australia, for the most part, we have become incredibly spoilt & a bit stuck up when it comes to hunting for ourselves and the topic of eating invasives species such as pigs, goats, rabbit, deer & camels plus the wildly exploded native kangaroo population is very divisive.

I grew up hunting, camping & fishing. I'm all for it.

Dad struggled for years to find a way to make carp edible as its almost the only thing you catch in some river systems now - he cracked it too - malt brown vinegar & rock salt - soak the filleted fish in it for a couple of hours then dip in flour seasoned with lots of white pepper then fry on a hotplate over flame. Seems mad to me now but I remember it being good.

We pay crazy prices for beef & lamb here - both of which are dreadful for our environment and most of it is exported - hence the crazy pricing.

I think with the way housing prices are going that people will be forced to find more economical ways to feed themselves and getting rid of the camel population might be a bloody good thing - there's 1.2 million of them and the number just keeps on climbing unchecked.
 
Frizz1974 said:
I think with the way housing prices are going that people will be forced to find more economical ways to feed themselves and getting rid of the camel population might be a bloody good thing - there's 1.2 million of them and the number just keeps on climbing unchecked.
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Firstly, I didn't realise house prices were rising in Australia. They are ridiculous here. There is no hope of my youngest son or youngest daughter buying their own property. What is the 'average' price of say, a modest 3 bedroom house, in Aus?

Secondly, I didn't even realise there were camels in Australia!
 
morning glory said:
Firstly, I didn't realise house prices were rising in Australia. They are ridiculous here. There is no hope of my youngest son or youngest daughter buying their own property.
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Houses where I live have gone up more than 50% in just over 2 years thanks mainly to Crossrail (a new rail route right across London). Most young people round here would be hard pressed to afford the deposit on a house.
 
A million dollars in Sydney. That's not city. That's 30-50km out from the CBD.

No hope unless you got into the market before the 2000 games or have serious help from family or an amazing career.

100 years back camels were imported for inland exploration & transport but were released when motorized transport became prevalent.

The famous myth is that intrepid explorers "Bourke & Wills" are responsible for the feral camel pop but loads more groups than them are accountable.
 
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Lynne Guinne said:
My Dad hit a pheasant on his run out to deliver bread one early winter day. Stunned it, so he took it to the side of the road and laid it in the tall grass. It was there on his way back, so he picked it up and brought it home to Mom. He had two choices from her: get rid of the pheasant, or leave! He gave the bird to a hunter friend of his...
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There are some pheasant farms not far from where I live. One day, a pheasant decided to commit suicide by running into my car. It was taken home and hung, but I still couldn't draw it. The ferrets ended up with pheasant for dinner!
 
Duck59 said:
Recent studies have suggested that the presence of pine martens not only reduces the grey squirrel population, but has no detrimental effect on the number of red squirrels. Indeed, as greys as reduced, then reds prosper. I'm happy for both carnivorous humans and mustelids to eat grey squirrels.
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Pine Martens on a farm at lambing time do not tend to bother with squirrels. If you've ever seen the size of the cage traps used to catch them you'd understand why.
 
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