Recipe-- Guernsey Squirrel and Dumplings

Hearty country recipes like Bean Jar are the standard traditional fare featured on the island of Guernsey.  Prior to the Guernsey squirrel's protected status, Squirrel and Dumplings was served nearly as often as Bean Jar.  Due to the lack of available squirrel meat, the tradition lives on, but is now substituted with hare or chicken.

SQUIRREL Dumplings
From:

    This is an excellent way to cook old squirrels which are too tough for frying.

        * 2 dressed squirrels, 2 to 2½ lbs
        * 2½ cups water
        * 1½ tsp salt
        * Dash of black pepper
        * 2 tbsp
        * Parsley
        * Dumpling Recipe 

       1. Wipe thoroughly with a damp cloth and pick off any hair .
       2. Remove any shot
       3. Then wash well inside and out with warm water
       4. Cut into serving pieces
       5. Put squirrel into a kettle, add water and salt
       6. heat to boiling, then reduce heat
       7. cover tightly and simmer until very tender, from 2 to 3 hrs the time depending on age of animal
       8. The meat should be almost ready to fall from the bones
       9. Add pepper and butter
      10. Increase the heat until liquid boils
      11. Lay the rolled dumplings over the top of squirrel, cover tightly and cook for 12 to 15 minutes

          Do not lift cover during cooking

Fur Spinning...A Guernsey Tradition

Every April and October, the Guernsey people gather to help shear the Guernsey Squirrels.  Dozens of small squirrel farms host weekends where community members are welcomed onto the properties where they join hands and circle around the squirrels, gathering them into caged domes where they await careful hand-selection for the shearing of their pompadours.
Unlike other livestock, the Guernsey squirrel enjoys being sheared.  Skilled hands can shear over forty squirrels per minute!  It is, after all, just one quick sweep across the forehead with a pair of clippers to yield a lop of silken fur.

The shorn pompadours are collected on a table and prepared for spinning

After the fur is prepared, the women of Guernsey Squirrel Farms spin the fibers into a silken yarn.

Gender roles are blurred on the island of Guernsey, and men tend to be the ones who knit the fibers from the Guernsey squirrel into products which are sold around the world.

Pictured here is a typical Guernsey lad creating a final product out of the dyed fibers!

Quick Facts: The Guernsey Squirrel

Name: The Guernsey Squirrel
Scientific Name: Sciurus Guernseris
Weight: 2 kg (4.41 lbs.)
Length: 0.61 m (2 feet)
Color: Golden fawn- deep bronze rust, gray tipped fur, cream underbelly, black eyes
Temperment: A social working class animal, docile and easily trained.
Food: Prefers the Guernsey Hazelnut
Uses: A non-pelt rendered animal, it is more profitable to shear the silken pompadours biannually and use as gathering livestock for nut harvesting.
Location: The Bailiwick of Guernsey, The Channel Islands, UK

Status: Protected Livestock
Notable: The national animal of Guernsey:

Guernsey Squirrel Behavior

The Guernsey squirrel is an upper-canopy dwelling species, but leaves the trees for nut gathering and socialization.  It prefers tall profusely branched trees for the construction of nests, but can often be found in the bush-like Guernsey Hazelnut tree.. It travels from tree to tree with jumps of up to 6 m (20 ft). When in danger, it often freezes or flattens itself against the tree trunk, instead of fleeing. With no natural predators on the island of Guernsey itself, the Guernsey squirrel is a trusting animal that can be trained easily. Because of its trusting nature, the Guernsey squirrel has failed to populate in other ares of the world.  On the island itself, it often falls prey to domestic house cats so the island government has strict cat-ownership guidelines in place to protect this species  Some animal activists have protested the restrictions placed on cat ownership, but the government remains steadfast in its commitment to protect this lucrative commerce-- Guernsey squirrel farming brings an estimated one million GBP per annual in its export of Guernsey Squirrel Nut Spread and goods made from the biannual shearing of its pompadours. The Guernsey Squirrel is mostly active in the early hours of the morning and in the evening, resting in the midday.