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Bid to save red squirrels expands to North-east

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Published Date: 09 December 2008
A GOVERNMENT-led campaign to protect red squirrels from the relentless advance of their American cousin, the grey squirrel, is to be launched next year in the reds' stronghold in the north-east of Scotland.
Earlier this year a series of no-go zones for grey squirrels were established across the south of Scotland in the first phase of a drive to protect Scotland's indigenous red squirrels from the greys.

The grey, which is larger and more aggressive
than the red, also carries the squirrel-pox virus which does not affect them but is deadly to red squirrels.

Mike Russell, the environment minister, yesterday announced that the scheme is to be expanded next February in a three-year drive against grey squirrel colonies in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

The campaign will involve Scottish Natural Heritage, the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Forestry Commission Scotland and Scottish Rural Property and Business Association.

Mr Russell warned: "We have only a short time to save the red squirrel from the brink of extinction."

Mel Tonkin, the project officer with the Saving Red Squirrels project, said: "

We have got to focus control in key areas where it is going to make difference.

"In the North-east in particular, we want and try and get rid of all the grey squirrels from the area because they are like a colony of grey squirrels behind the front line."





The full article contains 238 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 08 December 2008 9:18 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Squirrels
 
1

Guga II,

Rockall 09/12/2008 02:38:20
Will these numpties never learn. The easy way to get rid of the grey squirrels is to put a bounty on them. Put £20 a head on them and that will definitely solve the problem. If the greenies and the tree-huggers object, put a £20 bounty on them too.

2

sam the god,

09/12/2008 08:28:52
I do my best to get rid of the greys most weekends as they get the lead ballast on sight they also taste nice
3

Slioch,

Scottish Highlands 09/12/2008 09:20:54
Good. Let's hope concerted action can eradicate grey squirrels from the north east. Then, within a few years, perhaps the citizens of Aberdeen will have red squirrels in their midst. Looks like Mel has been reading Clausewitz.

Nomada, of course, is correct: putting a bounty on the heads, well tails actually, is the obvious knee-jerk solution. But it wouldn't work for the reasons he outlined. It is also likely to attract the 'young man out with an air rifle' brigade and lead to inhumane culling. Far better to have professionals backed up by an army of volunteers who understand the ecological imperative of countering invasive species and will work for nothing because they know it is the right thing to do.

4

Guga II,

Rockall 09/12/2008 11:01:25
#2 YarMad.

In your usual fashion, you open your mouth and spill out the contents of your lower gut.

Putting a bounty on them would not work the way you suggest. If you care to look at bounty schemes in other countries including, for example, Australia, they work. Only someone with a warped mind, such as yourself, would go to the trouble of catching them solely to release them in other areas.
5

Angus,

Alexandria 21/12/2008 13:14:38
4 Slioch.

Culling doesn’t work except in closed environments such as islands. According to research it would cost £200,000 per annum to control grey squirrels in Northumberland’s Redesdale Forest alone. - Rushton et al (2002) – and would require to be repeated endlessly as greys will quickly re-colonised voids, sometimes within a few weeks. Culling greys in Scotland will be an expensive and futile exercise requiring to be continued for evermore.

House of Lords.

“Squirrel culling is not a new phenomenon. Some 60 years ago the Ministry of Agriculture started to encourage people to kill squirrels, offering—I remember it only too clearly—a shilling a tail. I became a very wealthy young man at that time, as we had a lot of grey squirrels in the area and I did not need a lot of encouragement to do something about them. When the government at that time had paid out some £250,000, they decided that that was enough. There was no perceivable difference to the squirrel population.” Lord Plumb, March 2006

 

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