Is it permissible to eat squirrel?

Scholars differed regarding the permissibility of eating squirrels. The majority of scholars are of the opinion that it is permissible to eat them. Some, however, went to the extent of prohibiting it because it bites with its canine teeth. This is a view held by the Hanafis and some Shafi‘is and Hanbalis, while the Malikis have a view that it is disliked (makrooh). Al-Nawawi, Ibn Qudamah, Khalil, and Al-Mardawi favored the view that it is permissible.