A butcher hopes to tempt those looking for something wild to go on their plate by selling grey squirrel.
Kingsley Village, a shop at Fraddon, Cornwall, is selling the meat as an alternative to other types of game.
Chef Kevin Vyner who has been cooking up the furry creatures for Kingsley customers says he realises some people will find eating squirrel distasteful.
But he says it is very tasty, especially in a pasty or fricasseed with Cornish cream and walnuts.
He said: "They are cute and they are so magical, the way they run around and do things.
"But any meat is meat. In the rest of Europe people eat these things all the time."
The squirrels which can be hunted year round and are brought in by a local huntsman.
'Can't get enough'
But Kingsley Village director David Simpson said the squirrels had been so popular he would make a voluntary closed season to protect stocks.
"We can't get enough of them," he said.
"If there is a season for them it is probably coming to a close and we shall bring them back in the autumn."
He said squirrel chimed with customers looking for an alternative to mass-produced food.
"Almost everything we buy in the shops has been manufactured, but squirrels are a wild, natural food that has not been farmed.
"They also taste quite nice, a bit like a cross between rabbit and pork."
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