Apparently the plight of the red squirrel coupled with a plethora of grays, has prompted a change in British cuisine. The NY Times reports that squirrel is now gracing British dining tables. In the austere era following WW2, attempts to promote squirrel as the new red meat failed. But now political correctness has achieved what a call to patriotic duty could not. People are chomping on squirrel—I must remind you that it is, after all, a rodent--because they feel good about helping the environment.

The squirrel model I most commonly see touted as "early" is a look-alike of the Derby porcelain squirrel. Frankly, I am seldom confident that this little beast is indeed pre-Victorian. The body is always just a little too white for my taste.