A man in Finland has put a rare Siberian flying squirrel up for sale on a supermarket’s advertising board, although there is a slight problem – it is dead.
The flying squirrel, a protected species because of a lack on numbers in the wild, was made available for 60 euros in the central Finland city of Kuopio.
The man explained that a cat left the animal outside his house one night but, due to its perfect condition, he suspected it died of natural causes several months ago and that it had been frozen ever since rather than the cat being responsible for killing an endangered species. He later read that a stuffed flying squirrel is in high demand and could go for up to 300 euros.
The rare beast, which uses a flap of skin that connects its front and hind legs to glide between trees, was put on Finland’s endangered list in 2010, when strict conservation laws were put in place to protect it.
Detective Chief Inspector Markus Taskinen noted that it was against the law to sell or exchange dead animals that are protected without first being granted permission. He explained that if anyone finds a dead animal that’s on the endangered list, they should donate it to a science museum so research can be carried out on it.
The man admitted that he would have no problem giving the squirrel to a museum, but only if he was given the right amount of money for it.