Grey squirrel control programmes to protect native red squirrels raise complex welfare questions about the methods, scale, and ethics of lethal management of an invasive but sentient species.
Grey squirrel welfare in lethal control programmes deserves ethical consideration even as red squirrel conservation justifies management. Trap-and-kill programmes cause suffering if traps are not checked frequently, leaving animals confined in distress for extended periods. Shooting methods when poorly executed cause non-lethal injuries. The welfare of greys is not cancelled by their invasive status - they are sentient animals capable of suffering, and the methods of lethal management should minimise that suffering to the extent possible. Fertility control approaches that achieve population management non-lethally represent a welfare-superior alternative where they can be delivered at sufficient scale.