Cull more greys or lose reds forever, Government told

The Countryside Alliance’s position

The Government will need to press ahead with lethal grey squirrel control despite public opposition if England’s red squirrels are to be saved from mainland extinction, the Countryside Alliance has said.

Responding to Natural England’s ‘England Red Squirrel Recovery Strategy‘, published on 14 April, alliance spokesman Johnnie Furse said: “It is clear that decision makers will need to bite the bullet and press on with grey squirrel control, despite public opposition.”

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What the report found

The report, produced by the Zoological Society of London, evaluated 18 management strategies. It concluded that maintaining current effort, or replacing lethal control with fertility control alone, would result in a high probability of red squirrel extinction across mainland England within 25 years.

An estimated 38,900 red squirrels remain in England, confined to the far north and several islands including the Isle of Wight and Poole Harbour. Grey squirrels, introduced from North America in 1876, outcompete reds for food and habitat and carry squirrelpox virus, which is fatal to reds but harmless to themselves.

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Public opposition and non-lethal alternatives

The report predicted 56% of people in England would oppose kill trapping, 53% would oppose shooting and 45% would oppose live trapping and dispatch. Oral contraceptives for grey squirrels and a squirrelpox vaccine are both under development, but the report concludes that switching from lethal control to non-lethal methods alone would not deliver recovery.

“The main problem is not how to get the public on board with grey squirrel control, it is the plummeting red squirrel population and how best to reverse the species’ decline,” said Mr Furse. “And for that to happen, the Government will need to take the urgent action recommended, not worry about whether or not the public will be opposed.”