Arnold the squirrel on death row after RSPCA raids house full of animals

It was apparently intended to be an act of kindness. Seven years ago, Kindred Hummer's daughter called her mum from a park in Brough and said a baby squirrel was being kicked by a group of teenagers. She asked if she could bring him home and Ms Hummer, seemingly unaware she was breaking the law, agreed.

They named him Arnold and kept him in the loft. When he was a baby he would apparently sit on their shoulders. He lived in a cage and was let out for a "mad half hour" during the daytime. Now, after he was taken away by the RSPCA, Arnold faces a death sentence and will most likely be put down.



RSPCA officers found Arnold along with more than 50 cats when the raided Ms Hummer's Anlaby home. The squirrel cannot be allowed to live out his days in captivity because it is against the law to cage a wild animal. But he cannot be released into the wild because he is a non-native species in the UK.

Ms Hummer said: "When she asked if she could bring him home, I automatically said yes. We tried to put it in a tree and see if the other squirrels would look after him, but they didn't. We have kept him ever since. I did not know it was wrong." RSPCA inspector Sarah Keith said: "It is sad he was taken out of the wild and is now in this situation."