A dead Formby red squirrel is up for sale on eBay - with an asking price of £275.

The seller has posted a picture of the animal’s body and suggested it could be worth buying for taxidermy purposes.


Hannah, who comes from Sefton said: “Found this beautiful creature this morning, must have died of natural causes as no damage.

“Shame to let it decay, it’s so beautiful, maybe someone would like to taxidermy!”

She added: “I found him/her at the bottom of my garden, [I’ve] never sold for taxidermy [before] but it’s now frozen.

“I wouldn’t know how to post so I put as collection.”

The auction is set to last for three days, with an opening bid of £10 required.

Three people were “watching” the sale today.

No returns are accepted.

Sophie Doyle, from Netherton , spotted the squirrel sale, and contacted the ECHO to register her astonishment.

The 45-year-old said: “I was looking on Ebay for a wood squirrel ornament to buy as a present.

“But I came across this listing...I had to read it three times to be sure it was the sale of an actual dead squirrel.

“The red squiirel is an endangered species, and the last thing it needs is people trying to cash in on them.

“Putting it on Ebay is horrible.”

Red Squirrels were once a common sight across the UK but, since the introduction of the North American Grey Squirrel in the 19th Century, their numbers have declined, according to the National Trust.

Formby and the Sefton coastline is one of the few places in England where red squirrels have survived, with the conifer woodlands making a good habitat for the native Reds as they like to feed on the seeds found in the pine cones.

National Trust workers supplement the Red Squirrels’ natural pine cone diet by putting out a small quantity of peanuts and sunflower seeds in to specially designed squirrel feeders.

Taxidermy is the preserving of an animal’s body via stuffing or mounting for the purpose of display or study.

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