Battle to save red squirrel ‘must go on for ten more years’

A PROJECT to trap and kill tens of thousands of grey squirrels to protect their red cousins must continue for another decade or the species could vanish from Scotland, a charity has warned.

The three-year Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrel (SSRS) project will run out of funding in spring, but organisers say it is crucial the culling scheme continues.

Scotland is home to about three-quarters of the UK’s red squirrels, but they could die out because of the larger grey. Originally from North America, the grey out-strips the red for food and habitat and also carries a pox that is deadly to them.

SSRS is hoping organisations that have backed the £1.3 million cost of the first three years of the scheme will again come up with funding, but it is worried about the impact of the current financial climate.

Dr Mel Tonkin, project manager, said: “With government budget cuts already biting, it is not yet clear what resources government agencies will be able to commit to a project continuation.”

She added that “cessation of trapping would set us back to our starting point”.

Jonny Hughes, director of conservation for the Scottish Wildlife Trust, the lead project partner, said he thought another decade of trapping was needed to get to a stage where red squirrels were safe in strongholds in Scotland. “It’s very important it carries on. We need to keep the effort up,” he said.

“Where we need to get to is a point where we can say we have secured the future of red squirrels in Scotland.

“I’m guessing that would be about a decade away.”

He added that trapping intensity would reduce as time went by, meaning the project would also start to cost considerably less year on year.

The aim of the project is to make sure reds in the stronghold of the Highlands are safe from invasion from their larger grey cousins and to make sure the spread of squirrel pox, which has been discovered in recent years in the south of Scotland, is stopped in its tracks.

The disease is carried by the greys, to which it is harmless, but is lethal to the reds, killing them within weeks.

Mr Hughes added: “The red squirrel is an iconic Scottish species, not least because it is practically extinct in England. I think we have a much greater opportunity for long-term protection in Scotland.

“This species is important for our wildlife tourism industry and opinion surveys consistently show it is particularly popular with the public. The red squirrel is a top conservation priority for Scotland.”

He argued that the quick death of grey squirrels at the hands of a professional was more humane than the weeks of torment experienced by reds dying from the pox virus.

Trapped grey squirrels are killed either by being shot through the head using an air-gun or using a blow to the back of the head.

Mr Hughes said he was “hopeful” that new funding would be forthcoming. Major funding bodies for the past three years have included Scottish Land and Estates, Scottish Natural Heritage and Forestry Commission Scotland, with many other organisations also contributing.

A report into the past three years of work is being drawn up. Dr Tonkin said it would “support our conviction that the red retreat has stopped where grey squirrel populations have been removed or reduced”.