PEOPLE BEING PEOPLE

Squirrels are disappearing from Moscow’s parks, due to the new Russian fad of keeping the bushy-tailed rodents as pets. Russian authorities said they had stepped up police patrols in the capital’s green areas after receiving numerous reports of people trapping the squirrels, which are being sold as domestic pets for as much as $144 each. Anyone caught snatching a squirrel can be fined up to $570, but animal lovers are demanding that trappers face a more public punishment. “We should gather people together and pelt the person who does that with snow,” said one Moscow resident.