-------- Calif. city plans squirrel birth control ---------

[bakura_fan]

SANTA MONICA, Calif. - City officials in Santa Monica,
Calif., have announced plans to administer birth control
shots to the city's squirrels. The officials said they will
use GonaCon, an immuno-contraceptive developed by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, to halt the sexual development
of the city's squirrel population, the Los Angeles Times
reported Monday. James Gionfriddo, a USDA wildlife
biologist, said the drug halts ovulation and lactation in
female squirrels and stops testicular development in males.
He said the shot costs about $2 to $10 per use and does not
have any dangerous side effects. The inoculated squirrels
will also be tagged for tracking and monitored to assess
the success of the program. Researchers said the shots can
take about three months to begin showing their effects. A
similar approach attempted in a Berkeley Marina park
resulted in a 66 percent lower squirrel birth rate in an
18-month period, a 2004 University of California, Davis,
study concluded.

another from my bizarre news email. . . >_> creeeeeepy.

[Kaligraphic]

Oooookaaaay.

I suppose it makes more sense than hiring midgets to stand on streetcorners distributing tiny squirrel-sized condoms. Of course, getting rid of a squirrel problem by means of a $2-10 shot per squirrel after already capturing the squirrels seems rather... overly complicated to me. (Bring out the squirrel guillotines!)

[Esoteric]

Hmmm. Well if they can catch and neuter all the ferral cats, then I suppose they can catch and uh, inject all the squirrels. The ground squirrel population is a little out of control, but PETA won't let you use your guillotine, Kaligraphic.

[Slater]

Hehehe... too bad PETA doesn't restrict my right to use air rifles!

Unfortunatly, the little buggers are rare around this area of Cali.

[Raiden no Kishi]

: : sighs : :

Hel-LO! What do you think .22 Long Rifle Ruger pistols are for?

Busting some cheap caps in some dang squirrels, that's what. And looking stylish, to boot. You can even get silencers for them!

Man, give me a silenced Mark III Hunter with a laser, a few boxes of ammo, and carte blanche, and I'll take care of your squirrel problem. Sheesh!

.rai//

[ChristianKitsune]

O_O'
poor squirrels.
won't this have some kind of strange effect to the eco system?

[Azier the Swordsman]

Seems like a very pointless thing to do.

[mitsuki lover]

Are you sure this wasn't in the ONION?It sounds like something they would make up.

[Kaligraphic]

Nah, the Onion is sillier. This is more the normal kind of weirdness that goes on every day.

[Nate]

Squirrel is tasty.

That is all.

[Puritan]

...They're doing that for SQUIRRELS??? When I lived in Wisconsin, I'd read (every couple of years) about the state deer hunts to cull off the herds and prevent overpopulation and illness. Unless the deer were in an area with Chronic Wasting Disease, they'd donate the meat to homeless shelters. That made sense to me. Giving squirrels $2-$10 shots of hormones to stop their sexual development seems a waste. You'll just have to keep doing it every few years anyway (just like hunting) The citizens' money would go far further by simply purging the pests, and the squirrel meat could also go to help stop community hunger. A win-win situation.

[Esoteric]

Giving squirrels $2-$10 shots of hormones to stop their sexual development seems a waste. You'll just have to keep doing it every few years anyway (just like hunting) The citizens' money would go far further by simply purging the pests, and the squirrel meat could also go to help stop community hunger. A win-win situation.

I agree, it's a silly solution, however the squirrels around here aren't good eating...not like the varieties back east. In fact, I'm not entirely sure I'd want to eat a ground squirrel even if I was starving.

[Mithrandir]

Concidering what they EAT around here, I sure wouldn't. The *do* dig up my seedlings, so anything that gets rid of 'em is OK with me.

[mitsuki lover]

I thought it was bird droppings that was the problem.
Here we have deer problems.

[wingedfox]

we have lots of squirrles are a bit of a problem out here but we have lots of pretty kitties to help with the situation hehehe...

[mitsuki lover]

Yeah,cats love squirrels and birds.

[Headkicker9000]

Personally I'd just kill the little rodents but whatever.

[mitsuki lover]

The only exceptions are:Rocky J.Squirrel from Rocky And Bullwinkle and Momo,
Fuu's pet on Samurai Champloo and of course Secret Squirrel.We must protect them!
Joking.
But to be serious,I wonder why they don't simply trap the little buggers and release them in the wild where they won't be peskering people so much.Or maybe they ought to let them loose in Congress.

[Stephen]

Perhaps they could test to see how well they can swim. Put them out on Alcatraz or somthing.

[Mithrandir]

Or maybe they ought to let them loose in Congress.

I hope I'm not the only one who instantly thought of Ray Stevens at this time.

[righteous_slave]

Nope, you sure weren't. I smell a remake.

We've had squirrel, praire dog and various other small rodent birth control shots out here in Kansas for years. We call it a .22.

And now the serious answer. This is yet another case of beuracracy in action. A reletively minor problem with numerous effective solutions already in place (okay, you can't start shooting in a city, but there are traps,poisons, and predators available) that must be totally reexamined to find a less effective solution that costs more money.

[Valkaiser]

I hope I'm not the only one who instantly thought of Ray Stevens at this time.

Not until you mentioned it....

[JediSonic]

Wow.. Well, i guess we cant teach them abstinence, but the guillotine might work :-D That'd certainly be my dad's vote

[bakura_fan]

I dunno. I guess that anything that does it does it. Die squirrels die! =_= lets just say that after getting bit by a squirrel you don't like em anymore.
dad: pet the squirell!
me: (alot younger) ok!
dad: (didn't think I actually was going to do it)
squirrel: (hopping around) oh, look! she has food! *chomp* *pt! that's not food!
me: *cries*
squirrel: (stops moving) uhoh. (runs)
mom: (takes me to the bathroom to wash off the bite. she's mad at dad)
me: (walks out of the bathroom to be met by the park rangers)
park ranger 1: now, this is why you never pet wild animals.
park ranger 2: we'll take you to the medical station to make sure you're ok.
me: (glaring at my dad)

. . . . .=_= yeah. . . true story. . . happend in williamsburg, VA.

[Kat Walker]

HAHAHAHA!!!! Well, it's nice of them not to shoot the squirrels, I guess. o_o;

[mitsuki lover]

Shoot the pigeons instead as they are probably more of a problem.
btw:It seems to me with the way that California cities tend to build up into the
hills and forests where coyotes and wolves live that they would tend to be more of a problem,especially since every so often you read or see on tv news of someone's pet cat or dog going missing.

[Mithrandir]

We get bobcats that occasionally attack people, too. It's kinda weird, but not surprising.

[mitsuki lover]

Yeah,one would think by now that people would be a bit more careful where they build new housing,especially in California.
Here we have occasional cougar problems(not having to do with a certain University's football woes).