Squirrel Eugenics

At first glance, this news story is just a revisitation of the problems of the red squirrel. For those unfamiliar with the issue, red squirrels are indigenous to the British Isles, but fast being squeezed out by the bigger, rougher, tougher, greedier North American grey squirrel.

The ideas being proposed are hardly new to conservation — they’re going to cull a lot of grey squirrels to stop them taking over all the natural habitat of the red squirrel. It’s also suggested that perhaps sterilization drugs should be considered, to curb the population growth of the grey squirrels.

Now, reread that article and instead of reading “squirrels” read “people” instead.

Suddenly, it’s a tale of eugenics and genocide.

Interesting how perspective can change everything, isn’t it?