The sale of grey squirrel meat in London causes controversy
An independently-owned Budgens grocery store in North London has started the sale of grey squirrel meat sourced from the County of Essex. However, this has been criticised by opponents such as VIVA – Vegetarians Voice for Animals – saying that this is a barbaric and needless cull and what gruesome product will be next to grace our food aisles, blackbird, field mouse or mole? Large numbers of the introduced grey squirrel are culled throughout Britain to prevent damage to trees and to help conserve the native red squirrel. The story has appeared in several media outlets: BBC News, ITN, The Independent, Virgin Media, Asylum.