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Dinner gets very local for squirrel-eating Seattleite

Squirrels came to her stove top thanks to an angry neighbor, old cookbook and quirky cuisine of the United Kingdom, she says.

Sciurus carolinensis had long been a nuisance around her house, crawling into the eaves and making a mess. She demanded that her husband “repatriate” the cute critters. He’d trap and then release them at nearby Cowen Park. Until, that is, an outraged man cursed at Herrera for dumping his bushy-tailed problems on neighbors.

Vorass had read about the British appetite for squirrels. In England, eating nonnative gray squirrels has been viewed as a way to save the indigenous red squirrel. Following a “Save a red, eat a gray!” campaign, some of London’s finest restaurants started serving up the Yank transplants, according to The New York Times.

While leafing through “Joy of Cooking,” Vorass spotted a squirrel recipe. If they were going to exterminate the varmints, she told Herrera, they were going to try eating them.

#Seattle