Drowning- His Sorrow

There is a news item about a Staffordshire man fined £1547 for drowning a Grey squirrel that had dared to steal the food he put out for birds (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1296366/Why-I-hate-squirrels.html). The alien Grey is, of course, an animal introduced from North America and is blamed for the decline of the native Red squirrel. They are also said to be much more damaging to UK forests than the 'natural' version of the rodent. It is legal to kill Grey squirrels (some people advocate eating them) but the individual convicted was taken to court by the RSPCA and obtained the ruling that drowning was 'cruel' (in comparison with poisoning, shooting or breaking the neck). This appears to be a 'grey area'.