Red Squirrel Conservation and Grey Squirrel Management

The red squirrel has been displaced from most of England and Wales by the introduced grey squirrel, which outcompetes reds and carries squirrelpox virus to which reds have no immunity.

Key Facts

Red squirrels survive in Scotland, northern England, and some islands where greys have been excluded
Squirrelpox virus is harmless to grey squirrels but causes fatal disease in red squirrels within weeks
Grey squirrels were introduced from North America in 1876 and have spread across most of mainland Britain
Red squirrel conservation requires sustained grey squirrel control in buffer zones around refugia
Oral contraception baits for grey squirrels are under development as a potential humane alternative to lethal control

Welfare Considerations

Red squirrel conservation involves direct welfare trade-offs: lethal grey squirrel control prevents squirrelpox transmission and competitive displacement, but causes the death of sentient animals. Individual grey squirrels trapped and killed for conservation suffer real harm. The welfare case for control rests on the much larger scale of red squirrel suffering from squirrelpox — a fatal viral disease that causes distressing clinical signs including facial swellings, ulceration, and death within 15 days. Humane trapping methods and rapid killing techniques minimise grey squirrel suffering. The development of immunocontraception for grey squirrels would represent a major welfare improvement if effective in field conditions.

What You Can Do

Support red squirrel conservation charities including Red Squirrels Northern England and Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels
Donate to research into humane grey squirrel fertility control
Report red and grey squirrel sightings to national recording schemes to track range boundaries
Engage with the ethical debate around lethal grey squirrel management in wildlife conservation