Red squirrel conservation in the UK faces the dual challenge of grey squirrel competition and squirrelpox virus, requiring management interventions with their own welfare implications.
Red squirrel conservation welfare involves the direct welfare of managed grey squirrels alongside the welfare of red squirrels protected by management. Grey squirrels killed in conservation culling suffer - the welfare cost is real even if the conservation justification is strong. Squirrelpox disease in red squirrels causes prolonged fatal illness - a severe welfare outcome for individual animals. Compassionate conservation frameworks encourage developing non-lethal alternatives (vaccination, contraception) where feasible, using the most humane killing methods where culling is necessary, and being transparent about welfare costs of management programmes. Research into grey squirrel oral contraceptive baits offers a potential future alternative to lethal control.