Red alert over release of 250 grey squirrels

Government is encouraging the spread of grey squirrels in England, say worried campaigners

IN SCOTLAND, they are treated as an invading enemy – hunted down and killed to save our native red squirrels from extinction.

But, to the horror of campaigners for the reds, the government has licensed the release of more than 250 grey squirrels, which are originally from north America, back into the wild in England.

Now the European Squirrel Initiative (ESI), which obtained the figures, is warning the red "will soon become extinct in Britain" if its fate is left in the hands of government and calling for a volunteer army of "grey squirrel control groups" to be set up by country people.

However animal rights groups said if it was acceptable to release grey squirrels in England, the authorities should look at transporting – rather than killing – those caught in Scotland in order to "save the pointless killing of a perfectly healthy wild animal".

According to the Wildlife and Countryside Act, non-native, invasive species should not be released into the wild but this can be done if a licence is issued by the relevant authority, which is Natural England south of the Border.

Andrew Kendall, of the European Squirrel Initiative, said: "We've got a government agency whose job it is to protect the biodiversity of our countryside and what are they doing?

"What they are doing is seemingly making a political judgment, not a scientific judgement."

ESI used the Freedom of Information Act to discover that 257 grey squirrels had been released over an 18-month period.

However Ross Minett, campaigns director for Advocates for Animals, pointed out that red squirrel numbers were low because of persecution by humans.

"We don't believe it is acceptable to kill one species of squirrel in an attempt to try to conserve populations of another species of squirrel," he said.

"The squirrels are generally being killed by being bagged and bashed over the head with a piece of wood."

Dr Mairi Cole, of Scottish Natural Heritage, said it would not be possible to send Scotland's grey squirrels to England.

"It's just translocation of a non-native species, which is against any policy or sensible guidelines," she said.

"There's also the issue of squirrel pox virus. If you translocate there is a risk you would be introducing the disease to areas where it isn't currently."

Natural England said grey squirrels were not allowed to be released in areas close to red squirrel populations, including Northumberland and Cumbria on the Border with Scotland.