Squirrel poutine, anyone? Quebec hunter pushes for legal squirrel hunt

CTV Montreal: Squirrel hunting petition A couple of Quebec hunters are seeking to change the rules around the hunting of live squirrels. Stephane Giroux reports.

Across Canada, recreational hunting is regulated to create rules around how and when species such as black bears, deer and ducks can be killed.

A Quebec man is hoping to add another animal to that list: squirrels.

Martin Poirier, a 21-year-old hunter and university student, launched a formal petition asking the province to scrap rules that make squirrel hunting in Quebec illegal.

He argues that other Canadian provinces allow squirrel hunting and that a variety of other species, including foxes, pigeons and raccoons, are all permitted in Quebec.

Poirier also believes squirrel meat is good for you.

“I looked it up and saw it was popular, and that its meat was healthy,” he told CTV Montreal.

The petition has already drawn more than 400 signatories, and it’s expected to be tabled in the National Assembly by an MNA this fall.

Other provinces are more lenient when it comes with squirrel hunting. In B.C., gray squirrels and fox squirrels can be captured or killed at any time. In Alberta, several species of ground squirrels can be hunted without a permit. Ontario has stricter regulations for hunting different varieties of the rodent, including rules for hunting with and without a falconry bird and caps on daily kills.

Biologists say that scientists would need to study the potential impact on squirrel populations before they could endorse the hunter’s proposal.

A Montreal veterinarian notes that squirrels have one litter of babies each year, with about four to five newborns.

“As far as the red squirrel is concerned, their population is stable now. If you add another pressure on them, I don't know what will happen to their population,” said Jacques Dancosse, a veterinarian with the Biodome of Montreal.

Squirrel hunting advocates say they don’t intend to hunt the tree-dwelling rodents in cities, but would seek them out in the woods.

Poirier says he has gotten some backlash from animal rights groups, but he says that hasn’t deterred him.

As for the taste, fans of squirrel meat say the flavour is comparable to rabbit.

With files from CTV Montreal