Squirrel Value to Humans

Surprise! You might not be aware of it, but part of the tax that you pay to the federal government is used to study how the South African ground squirrels go about their sex lives. This year, the government has allocated $600,000 to fund the researchers of the said study. Last year, the government has funded a study that aims to find out how squirrels have evolved, along with the other funded researches which many critics think are not really beneficial to the ordinary taxpayer who pays for these researches. While it is quite obvious why these researches are attracting a lot of criticisms, still, the government pursues them.

The study needs this much money because the researchers have to travel back and forth from Africa to the United States. The study started out as a small research by a biologist who is fascinated with the sex life of squirrels. She asked for a grant and the government is generous enough to give her $600,000 cash. She thinks that the African Squirrels, especially the male ones are very friendly animals. She also explains that she wants to know why they only spend time with their female counterparts during sexual contact. She also wants to know why they do not fight over a female squirrel, contrary to what the squirrels in the United States do.

But, what does an average tax payer need of knowing why the male African Squirrels are the way that they are? If this research has been funded by a private firm, it should not be that much an issue. But the problem is that the money used to sustain this research comes from the pockets of taxpayers who do not even see the use of such a study in their own lives. According to the National Tax Payers Union, studies that are of no significant impact to the taxpayers should not be funded by the tax payers. Anyway, the researcher could have asked the help of her university, of private foundations or ask for private endowments. The federal government could have endorsed her research to these money-giving institutions too to spare the taxpayer's money from being spent on something which does not seem to be relevant.

(c) mammalwatching.com

Many of the taxpayers in the United States are not even aware where their money goes. They are compelled to pay so much to their government but the government seem to not value that money too much. Surprisingly, many projects that are aimed to help other sectors of society have been turned down by grounds of being not a shared interest. Examples of such projects are the building of more homes for the mentally ill, a research on developing medication for diseases such as schizophrenia, an OCD home for treating people with compulsion and so much more. Many of these projects have been turned down because they were found out to be redundant and so, instead of these projects, the government has funded many different projects which are seemingly useless.

Well, apart from the money that is spent on different "useless" squirrel studies, you might have heard of the efforts mankind has put forth in order to save squirrels from human cruelty. In fact, some local legislation even gave squirrels more rights that humans (i.e. traffic rights, territory rights, etc.). But, have you heard of what some of the squirrels are giving back to humans for all these efforts? Of course, we do not expect squirrels to think and contemplate on their actuals, after all their brains are only the size of a walnut. So, this article will simple cite examples of the crimes that squirrels have committed to mankind and to the other animals without any intention to make them pay for every bit of it. All the contents of this article is intended to show people of the kind of harm and damage that these animals can do, thus giving them a warning the next time that they encounter one in the street, in the part and even inside their own homes.

The case of Kevin McDonald Versus a Grey Squirrel

While shovelling snow in his yard, Mr McDonald was attacked by a grey squirrel. Using its sharp front teeth, the squirrel was able to give Mr McDonald a couple of wounds which need medical attention. He rushed to the nearest hospital and got himself treated. Meanwhile, they were able to catch the squirrel which was then brought to the Vermont Public Health veterinarian named Robert Johnson. He observed that the squirrel found showed no sign of intimidation in the presence of humans. Squirrels normally show signs of aggression before they attack a perceive offender, but that specific squirrel should none of these signs. The veterinarian is puzzled by this squirrels behaviour and formulated a theory that it might have been previously hurt by a human causing it to be aggressive to Mr McDonald.

Songbirds versus Grey Squirrels

Grey squirrels are now blamed for the rapid decrease in the population of Britain's most love birds, the Songbirds. These squirrels are reported to feast over the eggs of these birds. They also eat young birds which are still not capable of flying. It was found out that the widespread population of Grey squirrels in Britain is the main cause of the Songbird's possible extinction. Today, grey squirrels can be legally hunted down in Britain.

Car Drivers versus Squirrels

Squirrels are also notorious road crossers. Many motorists have found themselves in danger because of trying to avoid a squirrel that suddenly crosses a street. Now, the problem here is no matter if it is the squirrel's fault, the driver will still be liable for anything that would happen to the squirrel. SO, the tendency of the drivers is to really avoid the squirrel and in most instances this can lead to accidents.

There are so many crimes which squirrels have done to mankind, we have not mentioned about their hobby of destroying homes just yet. This brings me into thinking, why do we care so much about them?