Squirrely arguments

By: TONY MARKS
Editor

For local attorney Daniel Barzare, it is second nature to cite legal precedence while arguing his case in court. What is also second nature for Barzare is his affinity for squirrel hunting.
Barzare’s love affair with squirrels began in 1967 with his father, Horace. Five years, though, passed before the junior Barzare ate a squirrel.
“I remember where I was,” Barzare stated. “I was in Easton. We were parked on a pipeline, and we cooked squirrels right there. I fell in love with it, and I fell in love with the sport.”
He continued, “I love the eating. The eating is what I love dearly. On opening day, it wouldn’t be uncommon for me to eat anywhere from two to four squirrels. I love it. I relish it. It’s a delicacy. I find it’s probably the best tasting meat there is. I find squirrel, if it’s cooked correctly, is very delicious. I could go insane about it because it’s so good.”
Over the years, Barzare has enjoyed cooking squirrel for his fellow law school students and even people from The Philippines.
“I love cooking it,” he expressed. “I think I can attest by many people who have eaten my squirrels that they love it. It’s a delicacy that most people don’t have the privilege of ever trying to eat, but it’s got to be cooked correctly.”
The secret, for Barzare, to cooking squirrels is, as he said, “you have to brown it right.” He added, “If you don’t brown it enough, it’s going to have like a watery taste.”
Another secret of Barzare is learning squirrels’ kryptonite. “Their major weakness is pecans,” he shared. “A squirrel in a pecan tree is totally insane. They love to eat pecans. It’s like a narcotic. You can sit down under the tree and kill your limit with a shotgun in one hour. They’ll come over from a half mile away.”
When Barzare’s love affair with squirrels began, he used a 20-gauge single shot and worked his way up to a 12-gauge shotgun. “A lot of people who hunt with me use these .17 or .22 rifles,” he said. “I stayed with a shotgun. I’m a poor shot, so the only way to compensate is to get as many shots as I can with a shotgun.”
While he may be a poor shot, Barzare has become rather an expert witness as to the differences between fox squirrels and cat squirrels.
“Fox squirrels are bigger,” he shared. “In fact, I’ve only killed maybe three fox squirrels in the last two years. Fox squirrels are bigger, and the meat is bigger. I think cat squirrels might be a little bit better. They’re about the same, but, sometimes, you can’t tell the difference.”
As Barzare explained, “Cat squirrels have a smaller head, and they’re quicker. Fox squirrels move later in the morning. There are exceptions, but fox squirrels are easier to kill because they don’t run as fast. Cat squirrels are much faster. It’s like comparing a teal to a duck.”
Squirrel hunting, according to Barzare, has another advantage. As he said, “It is a great exercise because you walk a lot. Two years ago, for opening weekend, it was hot. I probably lost 10 pounds that one week because I sweated so much. I usually take five thousand steps a hunt.”
For Barzare, though, he sees his favored past time fading away. “I remember when Ville Platte High used to have the Friday off for Squirrel Day,” he said. “I don’t see that tradition being pushed a lot. I don’t see as many young kids in the woods. I think, as we grow older, people stop squirrel hunting. They quit. You need the young people to replace the old people when the old people quit.”
He went on to say, “I think squirrel hunting is a lost tradition. It’s decreasing in the number of hunters. A lot of people don’t eat it. It’s a delicacy that’s undiscovered. You can’t order it in restaurants. It’s got to be killed and eaten, but you can’t but it anywhere else.”
Even though the tradition may be fading away, Barzare’s self-described motivating factor remains. “I love to eat the hell out of them,” he stated. “It’s a great food to eat. It’s a little cumbersome to eat because of the small pieces of meat. Now, the leg, though, is a little different from the other parts of the body.”
Even though Barzare has a love squirrel hunting, he admitted he deer hunts the majority of the time. “The only thing I hunt is squirrel and deer,” he stated. “I have a long tradition, and this is very firm. I will not kill an animal unless I’m going to eat it. I won’t randomly kill an animal. The only exception is a snake. I will kill a snake in a heartbeat. I don’t care if it’s poisonous or non-poisonous. I’ll kill everyone I see.”
But, yet, even though Barzare bow hunts 80% of the time, he concluded, “There’s nothing like watching a squirrel fall out of a tree. To watch it fall down is exciting.”