Red or Dead (Squirrel)?
Conserving red squirrel requires a mass culling program for the eastern gray squirrel*, the UK government in January 2006 announced.
The Red Squirrel Protection Partnership (RSPP) are charged with the duty of the cull. They claim their methods prove the foreign species can be cheaply and quickly brought under control. And effectively - they say they have killed 12,000 - or one third of the county’s population, in just over a year.
Why? UK native red squirrels are dying out because they cannot compete against the larger gray populations. Until recently, there were only 1 red to 20 gray squirrels. The reds are on the brink of extinction.
Reds are strong on the Isle of Wight, Brownsea Island, in parts of Wales and a nature reserve near Liverpool. The reds have a strong-hold in Kielder Forest, but the RSPP predicts they will be extinct in Northumberland within 10 years.Gray squirrels breed more prolifically and are also considered a threat to woodland because they strip bark from trees. But, more to the point, they carry squirrel pox virus untouched, which is fatal to the reds. There is no vaccine, though research continues.Questions and doubts
The RSPCA said it “questioned” long-term culling and hoped the animals had been killed humanely. The cull says it uses humane methods: warfarin poisoning or trapping and shooting them.
Welcomed by many conservation groups, the cull has also raised ethical issues. Are the grays invading pests, or are they the new natives?
Farming and forestry have completely changed the squirrel’s environment. If the grays just happen to be more adaptable. Is it our responsibility to find an ethical and practical long-term solution -ie a sustainable plan?
Others, however, believe there is a more natural solution. The Forestry Commission is focussing on conserving red squirrel habitats. Because the red is smaller and more delicate they can reach into pine cones and get out the seeds, unlike the gray squirrel. Reds are in their element among Scotch Pine, Norway Spruce and the like.
So they could co-exist if it weren’t for the pox. Something still needs to be done, if we believe we have the right to change natural selection processes. Is this simply warm and fluffy feelings about a cute little animal, or something more logical? Red squirrels used to be the pest a century ago, destroyed in hundreds of thousands…
Or do urban tribes-people need to hang onto souvenirs of the natural heritage?
*PS the American squirrel is called the Eastern Gray - hence the American spelling.
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