He deserves a defense fund with the "animal cruelty" charge. However hunting out of season without a license or using a possibly illegal weapon (when I lived in NJ you needed a license to own a BB gun) could be indefensible charges. His main crime when disobeying improper laws was to not follow all three of the S's. Shoot, Shovel, Shut-up. I found my city has squirrels as protected species. Odd since they keep annexing rural lands where hunting is otherwise legal. I've been tempted to call them to take care of their squirrels or pay for the damage. melikeeatplants, it's a BB gun. Although if I could use my 223 there would be no issue with stray bullets. I have a squirrel load where nothing solid exits and it is extremely accurate. It would just be a bit loud for neighborhood shooting.

Well, supposedly they do taste nutty!

We lived in NJ from 2001 to 2005 and had an unbelievable number of squirrels. They stole animal feed. They spoiled vegetable gardens. I even observed them climbing trees with tomatoes in their mouths. Eventually I started getting them with CB caps in my 22. Two would make a fine dish for the family. At last, I came to be at peace about these little villans. Though we could never quite catch up with them, and thus the damage never stopped. We figured them into our harvest. Here in Oklahoma we seem to have fewer squirrels (and more owls and coyotes : ) I've gone from grabbing my rifle on reflex, to leaving them alone. We even have one black squirrel which the family has dubbed "Dad's pet." She's obese from stealing feed. She even ruined my leather work gloves. But she's only one squirrel and I enjoy watching her. Where we lived in NJ was incredible. They literally did seem like an invasion of "tree rats." George Tahlequah, OK

Down here in KY, 2003 was a banner mast crop year - tremendous crops of hickories, walnuts, acorns. But 2004 was a near-total bust - I didn't see a single acorn, hickory nut or pecan, and very few walnuts. The 2003 mast crop resulted in a boom in squirrel numbers, but the lack of nuts/acorns in 2004 caused numbers to drop precipitously - I presume many starved, died of disease, or became easy prey in their search for food. Mast crops this year are pretty decent again - good crops of walnuts & hickories, heavy acorn production on some oaks, while others are still 'taking a year off'. I've got a couple of white oaks close to the house or at the edge of the woods that have covered the ground with acorns - but no squirrel takers. One of the few Southern red oaks in the pasture that is producing acorns this year, near the woods' edge, has its acorns snatched up by bushy-tailed tree rats almost as soon as they hit the ground. Personally, I'm pleased to see low squirrel numbers - gives me a better shot at getting the good hickory nuts & pecans before they do.