Red squirrels in the UK face competition and squirrelpox from grey squirrels, with welfare implications for conservation management.
Red squirrels dying from squirrelpox experience progressive skin ulcers, conjunctivitis, and respiratory failure over 1-2 weeks causing significant suffering. The welfare harm extends to every red squirrel infected through contact with carrier greys. Conservation zone management to reduce grey squirrel numbers is necessary to protect reds but requires welfare-conscious lethal control methods. Squirrelpox in red squirrels is one of the most prevalent and prolonged disease welfare emergencies in British wildlife.