Red squirrels have been displaced across most of Britain by introduced grey squirrels carrying squirrelpox virus. Conservation efforts raise welfare questions about grey squirrel management and red squirrel captive breeding.
Red squirrel conservation involves a painful trade-off: lethal grey squirrel management to protect red squirrel populations from squirrelpox extinction. Individual grey squirrels killed in traps experience direct welfare harm; red squirrels dying from squirrelpox infection experience prolonged suffering. Fertility control for grey squirrels is under development and may offer a future alternative that avoids the direct welfare harms of lethal control. Captive red squirrel welfare requires disease monitoring and enrichment in breeding facilities.