Red squirrels survive in England only in isolated refugia in the north, where conservation management including grey squirrel control maintains their welfare and population viability.
Red squirrel welfare in England is maintained through active management that includes grey squirrel population control — a welfare tradeoff that frames conservation management as harm to one species to prevent harm to another. SQPV causes severe welfare harm in infected red squirrels — lesions around the eyes, mouth and feet progress rapidly to death. Grey squirrel management through trapping and lethal control is conducted under UK animal welfare legislation with minimising suffering requirements. Vaccination research for red squirrels against SQPV offers a non-lethal alternative welfare management pathway.