Plan B Forum

A three-year-old boy was left pouring with blood when he was attacked by a "pack" of squirrels as he fed them.



The animals pounced and bit Finlay Renouf five times at a country park in Cornwall, his mother Sophie, said.

"All of a sudden six of them came at him. I've never heard such a heart-rending scream. There was blood dripping everywhere," she said.

Cornwall Council said it may put up warning signs about feeding animals "if this becomes a regular problem".

Shop assistant Ms Renouf, 22, from Pool, said she had been to Tehidy Country Park several times before and fed the squirrels with Finlay.

"He was feeding them as normal with nuts. I wouldn't let him feed them if I thought there was any danger," she said.

"One squirrel came up and then all of a sudden six of them came out of the hedge.

"One of them bit him on the hand five times.

"There was blood pouring out of his hand and down his legs, it was all over him."

2006-09-27 18:54:00 PDT -- A fierce squirrel attacked a 4-year-old boy at Mountain View's Cuesta Park last week as the rodent tried to wrestle a muffin out of the boy's hands, leaving him with scratch and bite marks that prompted a series of precautionary rabies shots.

The skirmish wasn't the first time the park's numerous tree squirrels targeted picnickers.

Mountain View Community Services Director David Muela said today that as many as six people have been bitten or scratched by squirrels since May, and that the attacks have become more ferocious in the last month. One squirrel even went so far as to jump into a child's stroller.

Ironically, efforts to curb the behavior may have exacerbated the squirrels' aggressive tendencies, Muela said.

This summer, the city installed new trash receptacles featuring metal tops with a latch that makes it nearly impossible for an animal to rummage through the can in search of food. Increased park ranger patrols and flier distributions cautioning against feeding the animals might have further cut the squirrels' food supply, prompting them to act more assertively in their quest for food.

As a last resort, the city is now looking to trap the animals for possible euthanization, Muela said.

The state Department of Fish and Game recommends against relocating habituated squirrels, he said, because their fear of humans has diminished and the problem is likely to remain. Instead, the department recommends the animals be put to sleep, Muela said.

The city hopes to launch the trapping program as early as this week when a series of metal barrels should be installed in the trees.

dales wrote:Almost as fun as gassing the neighborhood cats?

Lord Jim wrote:
"Not "fun" but the fulfillment of obligation is a pleasure."[/center]

rubato wrote:You and PETA! Moral Twinsies! Both of you have trouble understanding the moral difference between killing chickens and feral cats and killing humans!

rubato wrote:They were right to riot and should, in fact, have killed everyone in city government. That would have been the right thing to do

rubato wrote:And they deserve to be killed.

Lord Jim wrote:What you did was reprehensible, disgusting, utterly lacking in any level of morality, and the fact that you took pleasure from it makes it sadistic as well...

And the fact that you don't feel shame or sorrow for what you did (rather than apparently "pride" which is what you appear to be expressing ) proves you to be completely lacking any moral compass, and utterly bereft of any decency...

I would not have thought it possible rube, but you've actually managed to find a way to lower my opinion of you...

MajGenl.Meade wrote:

rubato wrote:You and PETA! Moral Twinsies! Both of you have trouble understanding the moral difference between killing chickens and feral cats and killing humans!

rubato wrote:They were right to riot and should, in fact, have killed everyone in city government. That would have been the right thing to do

rubato wrote:And they deserve to be killed.