Red squirrels survive in the UK only in stronghold areas where intensive grey squirrel control and supplementary feeding management maintain populations against disease pressure from squirrelpox.
Red squirrel welfare within managed conservation areas is closely monitored and genuinely higher than in unmanaged woodland. However, disease pressure and competitive exclusion mean individual red squirrels outside strongholds face chronic welfare challenges. The ethics of grey squirrel lethal control as a welfare intervention for red squirrels involves genuine trade-offs.