Grey Squirrels - European Squirrel Initiative

ISSUE 21
OCTOBER 2010
Published by the European Squirrel Initiative
Grey Squirrels
The Debate Over Dispatch

Editorial
The last few months have been interesting times for the future of squirrel
control in the UK. The high-profile prosecution and fine of Raymond Elliot
for the drowning of a grey squirrel has created more column inches on the
squirrel issue in the national media than we have seen for a long time. Mr
Elliot’s conviction is a salutary tale to all of us involved in controlling grey
squirrels. The government’s recent announcement of a public consultation
on badger culling will only add fuel to the debate about the ethics of culling.
At the moment, the scales appear
to be finely balanced between animal
welfarists and those advocating a
more robust approach. We must,
of course, obey the laws of the
land, but we should not be afraid to
challenge those laws or rulings where
an emotional response has ridden
roughshod over practical concerns
and common sense.
In this issue and as part of
rebalancing the debate, Solicitor-
Advocate, Jamie Foster, provides
a timely review of the current legal
situation regarding dispatch of grey
squirrels, and Professor Sir Patrick
Bateson, Emeritus Professor of
Ethology at Cambridge University,
looks at the wider social and ethical
implications of grey squirrel control
and the reintroduction of reds.
It is time to stand up and make
our voices heard over the ill-informed
‘animal welfarists’. None of us
supports cruelty, but we must make
sure that we are free to maintain a
sensible, pragmatic approach to grey
squirrel control.
Miles Barne, Editor
In brief...
Scientists call for
legislation to prevent
further “alien invasion”
Leading experts meeting at the
Neobiota Conference held recently
in Copenhagen have called for
EU-wide legislation to deal with the
problems of invasive alien species.
The conference heard that a
European inventory in 2008 found
more than 10,000 alien species in
Europe with 1,300 having some
kind of impact. Numbers are on the
rise, alien species in Europe have
increased by 76% in the last 30
years. Invasive, non-native animals,
plants and microorganisms cause
at least 12 billion Euros of damage
in Europe each year.
For full details on the conference
go to:
www.cis.danbif.dk/neobiota2010
Jigger writes...
Ginny is my Jack Russell/Lakeland terrier. She rides with me every day in a box
fitted to the front of the estate quad bike, never missing any movement as I chug
along through the woods. Her main job is to keep me company, but she helps in
other ways with rabbits, rats and squirrels.
I have had problems shooting squirrels as they flee up trees. When I walk round
the tree where a squirrel has run, it side steps, always keeping the tree between us.
Then one day, Ginny chased one round the back of the tree and proceeded to yap and
jump up and down like a yoyo. The squirrel’s full attention was now on Ginny so it
started to side step around the tree to my side – giving me a chance to put him in the bag!
That’s how Ginny earns her biscuits…
Jigger is a vermin controller at an estate in Suffolk.
Government launches
consultation on
Badger culling
On the 15th September, Jim Paice,
the Minister of State for Agriculture
and Food, launched a public
consultation on additional measures
to help control bovine tuberculosis
in cattle.
Defra is consulting on a
proposal to issue licences to
farmers and landowners who wish
to cull and/or vaccinate badgers at
their own expense. A full decision
on the policy will be made early
in 2011 and culling could start in
May 2011, with as many as 6,000
badgers being shot in the first year.
The consultation closes on the 8th
December 2010, full details on can
be found on the DEFRA website
www.defra.gov.uk/food-farm/
animals/diseases/tb
Page 1

The Lawful Control of Grey Squirrels
Solicitor-Advocate, Jamie Foster, specialist in animal welfare and sports law,
reviews current legislation on Grey Squirrel dispatch.
Since the case of Raymond Elliott
(pictured right) became a national
news story in July, a certain
amount of misinformation has been
circulated in the media regarding
the legality of drowning squirrels.
It has been claimed publicly, by
members of organisations who ought
to know better, that the act of drowning
a squirrel is illegal and that anyone
who does so is committing a criminal
offence. This is not true. Drowning a
squirrel is illegal only if it is done in a
manner which involves unnecessary
suffering. It is entirely lawful if the
squirrel has been taken in the course of
a pest-control activity and the drowning
is done in a reasonably swift and
humane manner that does not involve
unnecessary suffering.
Following Mr Elliott’s case, a man
called Norris Atthey, the Chairman
of a local Red Squirrel protection
society, made a public statement
explaining that he had drowned grey
squirrels lawfully on a number of
occasions. Following his statement,
he was arrested by the police and
interviewed by the RSPCA.
I do not intend to discuss the
cases of Mr Elliott or Mr Norris in
this article. I have been instructed
to reopen Mr Elliot’s case so that he
can have the opportunity to properly
defend himself against the allegation
of causing unnecessary suffering to a
grey squirrel. It is not clear, at the time
of writing, whether Mr Norris will also
be prosecuted.
The only comment that I would
make about these two cases is that
they demonstrate the difficulties
surrounding animal-welfare cases in
the criminal courts and the absolute
necessity of obtaining proper
representation from a specialist
animal welfare solicitor in the event
that you are ever investigated or
charged with an animal welfare
offence.
So, what is the law relating to
killing grey squirrels? Firstly, grey
squirrels can be killed lawfully as they
do not receive the special protection
that wild animals such as red
squirrels, otters or badgers receive.
Some methods of killing a grey
squirrel, such as using explosives
or a cross bow, are banned by the
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Other methods have restrictions
placed on them. It is lawful to poison
a grey squirrel with Warfarin, or to kill
a grey squirrel with a spring trap, as
long as the pieces of legislation that
govern these methods are complied
with. Shooting squirrels is also
entirely lawful as long as the shooter
complies with all relevant firearms
legislation.
A person who has trapped a
squirrel in a cage trap has a legal
obligation to kill it, due to the fact
that the Wildlife and Countryside Act
1981 makes it an offence to release a
squirrel that has been trapped.
The Wild Mammals Protection
Act 1996 lists a number of methods
of killing squirrels, such as kicking,
beating, stabbing and drowning, that
are illegal if done in order to inflict
unnecessary suffering. All of these
methods can be used, however, if the
killing is done in a reasonably swift
and humane manner when the squirrel
has been taken in the course of lawful
shooting, hunting or pest control.
The new Animal Welfare Act
makes it an offence to cause
unnecessary suffering to certain
classes of animals. It is possible,
although by no means certain,
that a grey squirrel that has
been trapped will be protected
by this Act.
continued on page 3 >
Page 2

continued from page 2
Photo courtesy of Grey Squirrel Control Limited
Unnecessary suffering is different to
suffering. We all suffer from time to
time. Suffering becomes unnecessary
if there is something that could and
should be done to prevent it. As a
result, in my opinion, the only way that
a method of killing a squirrel can be
said to cause unnecessary suffering
is if it can be proved to cause more
suffering than other lawful methods.
It is worth thinking about this for
a moment. If you poison a squirrel
with Warfarin its blood will be thinned.
It will begin to bleed into its joints, a
very painful process. It will also bleed
profusely every time it cuts itself and
can take several days to die. If you use
a spring trap, the creature’s back can
be broken and it can take hours to die
in varying degrees of pain. If you shoot
a squirrel and wound it rather than kill
it, the squirrel can also die slowly and
painfully.
If a prosecutor alleges that drowning
a squirrel caused it unnecessary
suffering, that prosecutor will be under
a duty to show that the suffering was
more prolonged or more intense than
the suffering caused by the methods
outlined above. I am not convinced that
this would be possible to prove.
So, why are cases being brought
at all if this is the state of the law?
The reason would appear to be that,
due to the lack of public resources,
the investigation and prosecution of a
great deal of animal welfare offences
in England and Wales has been left to
the RSPCA.
Jamie Foster is a Solicitor-Advocate at Clarke Willmott LLP specialising
in animal welfare and field sports law. He has successfully defended
clients charges with hunting-related offences.
It seems obvious that it is very
difficult if not impossible for a private
charitable organisation, whose
fundamental purpose is to protect
and improve the welfare of animals,
to remain sufficiently objective
and accountable in order to make
decisions about whether it is in the
public interest to bring criminal cases.
It is unsurprising that the RSPCA,
when faced with a borderline or difficult
case, may be tempted to err on the side
of protecting the interests of animals
rather than the public interest. This may
explain why the charity has, unusually
for a prosecutor, been found to be in
contempt of court in the past.
In my opinion, the RSPCA should
not be put in the position of having to
make these decisions. We spend a
great deal of public money on having
a Crown Prosecution Service that
is both accountable and capable
of dealing entirely objectively with
questions such as these. The Scottish
equivalent of our CPS makes all
decisions about whether to bring
criminal cases in Scotland, including
Animal Welfare cases. It is high time, in
my view that the same regime applied
in England and Wales.
Jamie Foster, Solicitor-Advocate
Page 3

Challenges of Red Squirrel Reintroduction
Professor Sir Patrick Bateson, Emeritus Professor of Ethology at Cambridge University,
discusses the challenges faced by projects to reintroduce Red Squirrels.
The announcement
in June this year of a
project to reintroduce
red squirrels into
Cornwall, where the last
red squirrel was seen in
the 1980s, is welcome.
However, before any
reintroduction of reds
can take place, the grey
squirrels present in the
area must be totally
eliminated. If that is
not done, a great deal
of time and money will
have been wasted as
the population of greys
bounces back.
Ridding an area of
any animal is never easy
and, even when it has
been successful, creating
around it a substantial
buffer zone that is rigorously monitored
is essential. If this is not done, animals
from outside the exclusion zone will
migrate into it, rapidly and disastrously,
bringing the experiment to an end.
In New Zealand, predators and alien
competitors have been successfully
excluded from islands where endemic
species have been reintroduced. The
Lizard and West Penwith, the areas
in Cornwall which are the focus of the
reintroduction project, are not islands,
but have the advantage over other parts
of the country of being surrounded
by water on three sides and only
needing a relatively short buffer zone.
Nevertheless, removing all grey squirrels
from urban and suburban areas within
the project zones will not be easy.
An additional problem about
establishing exclusion zones is
that it always brings into conflict
conservationists and those concerned
about animal welfare. For some people
the killing of any animal is unjustified.
Those who are less extreme require
that killing is done humanely. A national
debate on this subject should reach
conclusions over the coming months.
Defra-approved traps, such as the
Professor Sir Patrick Bateson,
FRS, has a particular interest in
the development of behaviour
and the assessment of pain
in animals. Professor Bateson
has written many books and
articles on ethology and animal
welfare, and advises Parliament
on scientific matters. He has
been president of the Zoological
Society of London since 2004
and was knighted in 2003.
Kania, a powerful spring trap which
breaks the animals’ neck causing
instant death, are the most widely used
method at present. The alternatives
to the eradication of greys are not
promising. Neither vaccination against
squirrel pox, to save the reds from a
disease to which they are not resistant,
nor immuno-contraception to reduce
the rate of reproduction in the greys
are plausible options for the immediate
future.
A large section of the public is
aware of the damage caused by grey
squirrels and understand the need for
their removal. It is less clear, however,
that the argument about grey squirrel
Page 4
eradication has been
won in suburban areas,
where they are a popular
visitor to many gardens.
Nobody should be under
any illusion about the need
for skilful public relations
if eradication is to be
accepted more widely and
the reintroduction project
is to be successful. Even if
that debate is won, several,
if not many, years will pass
following eradication before
the public see red squirrels
in their gardens as often as
they saw grey squirrels.
If grey squirrels can be
effectively excluded from
these areas of Cornwall,
the next issue that must be
faced is finding a source of
red squirrels. The majority
of reintroductions into the wild of
captive-bred animals have not been
successful because the animals lack
the skills needed to find food and avoid
predators. Although red squirrels bred
in captivity have survived successfully
in the wild, it is important that the
released red squirrels are obtained
from as wide a number of captive
breeding populations as possible. The
animals must be sufficiently diverse
genetically to avoid the real problems
of excessive inbreeding which can
arise in small, isolated populations.
The practical and ethical hurdles of
reintroduction are not insurmountable.
They do, however, require careful
thought before serious resources are
committed to the project. The critical
issue in Cornwall will be whether it is
possible to eliminate completely the
grey squirrel from the area into which
the red squirrel could be released and,
importantly, from the buffer zone. The
grey squirrel has shown itself to be a
highly intelligent and adaptable animal
and is capable of evading the most
determined attempts to eradicate it. If
eradication is incomplete, the whole
effort would be wasted.

The Battle for Plas Newydd
In the summer of 1996, the late Esmé
Kirby began her crusade to rid the
island of Anglesey of the pervasive
grey squirrel and reverse the fortunes
of the native red squirrel.
With the island’s few remaining
reds isolated in the depths of the
Mynydd Llwydiarth conifer plantation,
Esmé put forward the idea of reestablishing
a colony in the woodlands
and gardens of Plas Newydd, a
location that had been a historical
stronghold for the species. Plas
Newydd House, the ancestral home
of the Marquess of Anglesey, and
many parts of the estate, were being
managed by the National Trust who
were keen to explore the potential of
returning red squirrels to the grounds.
The rich, broadleaved habitat of
the Estate was, however, saturated
with grey squirrels, and without
wider and systematic grey squirrel
control, any red squirrel reintroduction
programme would have been a valiant
if ultimately futile initiative. In view of
this, plans for the reintroduction of the
red were placed in the ‘things to do
later’ file and an island-wide grey cull
began in determined fashion.
Clearing grey squirrels from the
Plas Newydd Estate, close to the
Britannia road and rail bridge and
cutting a swathe along the banks
of the Menai Straits, proved to
be a huge challenge. Reinvasion
from mainland populations was
almost certainly taking place, but
perseverance progressively reduced
the number of greys, and with
successful reintroductions having
taken place at Beaumaris to the
north and Newborough to the south,
the first red squirrels arrived at Plas
Newydd in 2008.
Six animals sourced from captive
collections in Norfolk and Kent were
housed in forest enclosures for a
few weeks and then released over
the winter months. To the delight of
visitors to the Plas Newydd Estate,
red squirrels were occasionally
seen, and with favourable breeding
that year, the trickle of sightings
became a regular flurry. Two years
later, and animals can be found
across the Estate, with some regular
squirrel hotspots in the Eucalyptus
arboretum and in the Corsican pine
and oak standards which punctuate
the five-acre Rhododendron
gardens.
To the delight of project staff and
local squirrel volunteers, in June 2010,
HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH
The Duchess of Cornwall visited Plas
Newydd to learn first hand about the
pioneering work on squirrels that was
taking place. It is anticipated that with
further red squirrel reintroductions
scheduled for this autumn, Anglesey
will soon have a national stronghold
population.
Dr Craig Shuttleworth,
RSST National Operations Director
Dr Craig Shuttleworth studied
Wildlife Management at
Edinburgh University, and later
completed Ph.D. research into
red squirrel feeding ecology. He
has been the Woodland Ecologist
with Menter Môn (Anglesey
Enterprise) since 1998. Craig is
an active supporter of the Esmé
Kirby Snowdonia Trust.
HRH the Prince of Wales with Dr Raj Jones,
Chair of the Friends of the Anglesey Red
Squirrels, shown here on his recent visit to
Plas Newydd.
Page 5

Red Squirrel Volunteers in Northern England
There is no doubt that without
the enormous efforts of red
squirrel volunteers in Cumbria,
Northumberland and Lancashire,
the red squirrel could have
disappeared completely from the
north of England.
There are currently fifty volunteer
groups across these counties, which
vary greatly in size but all have
one thing in common – they are
dedicated to grey squirrel control,
and in most cases, their work has
ensured that the red squirrel is still
present in their area.
The culling of greys has only
recently become more widely
accepted by the public as pivotal
to protecting reds. Previously, any
funding was targeted to monitoring
the grey squirrel’s advance, rather
than controlling it.
One of the first concrete
examples of a change in attitudes is
a new, five-year strategy for Northern
England, with grey squirrel control
at its core. The strategy is funded
by Natural England, the Forestry
Commission, the Wildlife Trusts
and the Red Squirrel Survival Trust,
supported by local groups.
Local groups are key to ensuring
that action is carried out on a
landscape scale, despite the strategy
being stronghold based. Northern
Red Squirrels (NRS), an umbrella
group for local groups, will be a vital
element part of the project and will
deliver the data needed to retain
government funding for the future.
Robert Benson, Chairman of Penrith
Red Squirrel Group and a member
of the Development team for the Red
Squirrel North England strategy.
Saving Eddie
For the past two decades, Wendy Martin of the
Penrith and District Squirrel Group has been one
of the volunteers helping to secure the future of
the red squirrel in the north of England. A few
weeks ago, Wendy received an urgent call. There
was an abandoned red Squirrel kitten, could she
look after it?
“I started off feeding red squirrels in my garden over
twenty years ago. It’s a wonderful sight to see them run
along the top of my wall to the jackdaw-proof feeders a
neighbour made for me, in spite of a nearby buzzard’s nest.
“Several weeks ago I agreed to raise an orphaned
red squirrel kitten which had been found near
Buttermere. He was the smallest I have seen. After
four days I managed to weigh ‘Eddie’, using an old
fashioned spring balance and a sock. He weighed just
2 oz! As this little squirrel grew, I moved him from an old
hamster cage, then he began climbing
all over the curtain poles in the living
room, so I put him in a newly built run
in the garden.
“I have invited local school children
to see Eddie and he has become a
Wendy Martin
Rory Stewart MP holding Eddie,
and below, Eddie enjoying a
recent issue of Squirrel.
wonderful ambassador for red
squirrels. In fact, he is a bit of a local
celebrity! I released him back into
the wild a few weeks ago and he
appears to be doing well. He still
comes back into my garden and
has brought a ‘girlfriend’ with him.
I do have concerns however. Grey
squirrels have been spotted not too
far from here and I have recently
seen two poxed adult reds in my
garden. I am keeping my fingers
crossed for Eddie.”
Page 6

UK News
The Cornwall Red Squirrel Project (CRSP)
A project to reintroduce the red
squirrel to Cornwall, where the last
recorded red squirrel was seen
in 1984, was launched by HRH
The Prince of Wales at the Royal
Cornwall Show in June this year.
A study by Dr Craig Shuttleworth,
National Operations Director of the
Red Squirrel Survival Trust (RSST),
who are supporting the project,
identified West Penwith and the
Lizard in the western and southern
extremities of Cornwall for the project.
These areas are surrounded on three
sides by the sea and are considered
to be defensible against reinvasion
by greys and they also have suitable
woodland habitats for a reintroduction
project of this kind. Following on from
this study, a group of landowners in
these areas formed a committee to
implement plans to cull grey squirrels
in a systematic way, prior to the
reintroduction of reds.
A public meeting will be held
in November at which the scheme
will be explained to local residents
and volunteers sought. Initial public
reaction has been encouraging.
The immediate priority of the
CRSP is to raise sufficient funds to
employ a full-time ranger to manage
the project. It is anticipated that it will
take at least three years to reduce
the population of greys in the area to
a level at which the introduction of
captive-bred reds will be feasible.
Charles Williams, Chairman of the
CRSP, said: “In Cornwall, we have
seen the interest and pleasure that
the return of the chough has given to
residents and visitors to the Lizard and
West Penwith. Let us hope we can
achieve the same happy return for the
red squirrel.”
Giles Clotworthy
Publicity officer of the CRSP
The project involves clearing grey
squirrels from the key project
areas prior to reintroducing red
squirrels. Four key landowners
in the target areas – at
Trengwainton, Lanarth, Bonython
and Trelowarren Estates – are
supporting the project (three
in the Lizard and one in west
Penwith, as shown on the map).
Letters
Dear Sir,
My keeper has killed 111 grey squirrels already this winter,
and this has been an ongoing situation for many years.
We have a very meagre population of reds, but one of
the great difficulties they have, which I would like to draw
your attention to, is the impact of the burgeoning buzzard
population in the area. There have been several sightings of
buzzards taking red squirrels.
The national wildlife problem can be summed up in the
Game Conservancy’s excellent work A Question of Balance.
Unfortunately, in Strathearn we only have a handful of lowground
gamekeepers and a substantial number of acres
around my property have no form of grey squirrel control.
When you add to that the increasing number of buzzards,
there is an imbalance in favour of predators which were not
there twenty-five years ago, but now pose a substantial
threat to the red squirrels. This situation I believe can be
recorded across most low-ground Scotland.
Yours faithfully,
Charles C Connell, Perthshire
Dear Editor,
I was less than impressed, although not entirely surprised,
with the conduct of the RSPCA in the squirrel drowning
case. The RSPCA are in my view an organisation more
concerned with publicity than animal welfare. However,
I would agree that drowning is not an acceptable way of
killing a trapped adult animal. But I would take issue with
their recommendation that the animal be taken to a vet for
euthanasia. What the RSPCA fail to recognise is that trapped
wild animals are extremely distressed by exposure to humans
which will inevitably be the consequence of transport and the
handling involved by the vet in the procedure of euthanasia.
In my view, following discovery the animal should be shot
with the minimum of delay. It follows therefore that anyone
setting traps for pests such as grey squirrels or rats should
be equipped with a suitable firearm.
Yours faithfully,
Dr Lewis Thomas
Secretary, Veterinary Association for Wildlife Management
Page 7

International News
Italy
The Italian Campaign
Earlier this year, ESI organised a
meeting in Milan for individuals and
organisations concerned about
grey squirrels from the UK, Italy
and Switzerland. There are three,
expanding, grey squirrel colonies
in Italy, near Turin, in the Ticino
National Park and in Genoa Nervi.
The meeting, attended by over
20 individuals, was one of the most
positive to be held by ESI in Italy, and
bodes well for future activity in the
country. Miles Barnes and Andrew
Kendall from ESI gave an overview of
the UK experience and a stark warning
about the projected spread of the grey
squirrel population within the UK. The
concern of the Swiss authorities to the
potential spread of grey squirrels from
Italy was highlighted by Dr Thomas
Briner, from the Swiss Federal Office
of the Environment, which has stated
its support for eradication in Ticino. Dr
Briner explained that under Swiss law,
all alien species have to be eradicated.
The possibility of eradicating the
grey and reintroducing the red squirrel
in Genoa Nervi was also discussed.
ESI suggested that with experience
gained in Anglesey, Dr Craig
Shuttleworth could provide valuable
guidance to the Italian Authorities.
Since this meeting there has been
a welcome development – the EU has
provided a grant under LIFE+ to carry
out an eradication programme in Ticino,
supported by a communication plan
which will highlight to the Italian public the
problems caused by the grey squirrel and
the benefits to biodiversity of eradication.
Andrew Kendall, ESI
Grey Behaviour Makes it a Dangerous Competitor
“Differences in behaviour between
red and grey squirrels is one of the
reasons red squirrels are under
threat”, explains Piero Genovesi, chair
of the Invasive Species Specialist
Group (ISSG), a global network of
experts on invasive species.
“Unlike the red squirrel,” Dr
Genovesi continues, “grey squirrels
spend more time on the ground than in
the trees, so they don’t need to be as
agile as the red and can store higher
levels of body fat, making them more
resistant to the rigours of winter. Grey
squirrels also have a more varied diet
than reds and will steal their nut stores.”
Squirrels spend a lot of their
time storing food for the winter. Lucy
Hopewell, an ethologist from Exeter
University, is an expert in squirrel
behaviour. “When acorns are scarce,
a squirrel who finds a pile will pick one
up and bury it nearby before running
back to pick up and bury another. In this
case, this individual sees other squirrels
as immediate rivals. On the other hand,
when there is plenty of food, squirrels
will take a nut and hide it out of the sight
of other squirrels. Here, squirrels are not
seen as immediate competitors but as
potential thieves.”
On the subject of stealing, a number
of studies by US academic, Michael
Steele of Wilkes University, have shown
that in the presence of other individuals of
the same species, grey squirrels will dig
fake food stores to keep rivals away from
their real food stores. “It is very difficult for
red squirrels to compete against this kind
of forward-thinking behaviour. Red and
grey squirrels have not been living near
each other for long enough for the red to
have evolved counter behaviour. It simply
can’t compete.”
But it’s not all bad for the red. Stan
Boutin, biologist at Alberta University
explains, “The red squirrel is able to
tell in advance when there is going to
be an abundance of food. Red squirrel
populations we have studied in Italy
and Belgium increase their rate of
reproduction in time to make the most
of the years where there are plenty of
nuts. We are still not sure what clues
they are picking up in the summer
to tell them there is going to be an
abundance of food that autumn. We
think they may be picking up visible
signals in the environment around
them, or chemicals from buds or the
pine nuts that they are eating.”
This extract is from an article in leading
Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
Page 8

Squirrelpox Vaccine Moves a Step Closer
Squirrelpox continues to be a
problem for red squirrels in the UK.
Evidence suggests that the virus
(SQPV), a poxvirus that is a close
relative of the virus that causes
myxomatosis in rabbits, is carried by
grey squirrels without causing them
any harm, but can be transmitted to
red squirrels with almost invariably
lethal consequences.
Although competition for woodland
resources undoubtedly plays a role in the
ecological replacement of red squirrels by
the introduced American grey squirrels,
research carried out over the last decade
and a half has shown that SQPV is a
major contributing factor to the decline of
the red squirrel in the UK.
Work started on the development
of a vaccine against SQPV in January
2009. The research, being carried out
at the Moredun Research Institute in
Edinburgh and funded by the Wildlife
Ark Trust, is designed to produce
vaccine candidates that can be tested
for their ability to protect red squirrels
against the virus. Designing a vaccine
for a population of wild animals, such as
the red squirrel, is not straightforward.
Many challenges have to be overcome.
Ideally, any vaccine developed should
be able to fully protect the squirrel from
infection. This is not always achievable
and so, at the very least, the vaccine
should reduce the symptoms of disease
such that the red squirrels are able to
survive an infection with SQPV in the
wild. Equally, a vaccine should help to
reduce transmission of the virus to other
vulnerable animals and should, itself,
not pose a threat to any other animals in
the woodland. The final challenge facing
researchers is one of how to deliver the
vaccine to a population of wild animals.
A multi-pronged approach to
vaccine design is being taken to
maximise the chances of success. The
first candidate vaccine is well on its way
to being tested. This vaccine is based
directly on the virus that causes disease
in red squirrels. Researchers hope that
by using a weakened form of the virus
in the vaccine, it will no longer be able to
cause disease, but will instead provide
some degree of protection to the red
squirrels. This approach, of producing
a weaker form of the problematic virus,
is common in vaccine design and has
proved successful for other poxvirus
diseases. The next step is to give the
vaccine to red squirrels and monitor
their health for any detrimental effects. If
the squirrels remain healthy they will be
exposed to the virulent form of the virus
to assess whether any protection has
been conferred.
Even if this first trial is successful,
development of the vaccine still has
some distance to go. Larger trials will be
needed, which will include finding out
how best to deliver it, and, importantly,
satisfying the regulatory authorities that it
will be safe to use in the wild.
Dr Colin McInnes, Head of the Virology
Division, at Moredun Research Institute
Dr McInnes joined the Moredun
Research Institute 20 years ago.
He is currently Head of the Division
of Control of Viral Diseases
at Moredun, and specialises
in parapoxvirus infections of
ruminants and wildlife. His group
was the first to characterise the
squirrelpox virus.
Perceptions Survey - Mixed Fortunes
Results from the Red Squirrel
Survival Trust’s (RSST) biannual
survey show a public perception that
red squirrel numbers have remained
stable over the past six months.
Three hundred and fifty
respondents provided data on
perceptions of red and grey squirrel
population changes around the UK.
Perceptions of red squirrel numbers
were most improved in the Isle of
Wight, where there are no greys, but
this encouraging news comes with
a public perception that grey squirrel
numbers appear to have been stable
or to have risen over the past six
months across the UK.
The greatest decline in red
squirrels was reported in Scotland,
particularly in north, central, northeast
and south Scotland. In northern
England the news was mixed, with
a slight increase in grey squirrel
numbers, but the rate of increase
was perceived to be substantially
lower than in the previous survey in
December 2009.
Results from Cumbria showed
a decline in the perceptions of red
squirrel numbers in north Cumbria –
reflecting perhaps this year’s increased
recordings of squirrelpox in red
squirrels from data provided by the
Veterinary Laboratories Agency. This
follows a similar reported decline in the
winter 2009 survey. In south Cumbria
and the Cumbria Yorkshire Dales, reds
remained scarce, however there was
an encouraging perception of a strong
reduction in greys in the region in the
past six months.
More positively for red squirrels,
there was a perception of a slight
increase in numbers of reds in
Northumberland and there were
reports of reds returning in North
Cumbria, the Cumbria Yorkshire Dales,
and the Sedbergh area.
We are grateful to all who
participated in the survey – numbers
of participants increased by around
40% from the first survey carried out
in December 2009. Each new survey
helps build a useful picture of trends
over time, and we hope that response
numbers will continue to grow. A link
to the survey can be found on www.
rsst.org.uk. Please contact us if you
would like to be added to the mailing
list for future perceptions surveys.
Joshua Perry,
Director, Red Squirrel Survival Trust
Page 9

Text-a-Squirrel
This October
sees the launch
of the UK’s
first pilot scheme to encourage city
dwellers to report squirrel sightings
in the city via a text message from
their mobile phone.
Christened Text-a-Squirrel, the
project aims to collect data on red and
grey squirrel distribution in Aberdeen
where both populations live within
close proximity of the city centre.
The Text-a-Squirrel service allows
members of the public to report
sightings of red and grey squirrels
simply by texting the word RED
or GREY followed by where it was
spotted – giving a postcode, city street
name or park name, followed by the
recorder’s name, to 88802.
The two-week project has been
timed to coincide with national Red
Squirrel Week, and is the brain-child
of Hollie Walker, North-East Scotland
Project Officer for Saving Scotland’s
Red Squirrels (SSRS).
“The red squirrel is an essential
part of Scotland’s heritage,” says
Hollie, “but we have to act now to
save the red. We hope that information
gathered by this project will help stop
the spread of the grey squirrel in
Scotland over the next few years.”
Mel Tonkin, Project Manager Saving
Scotland’s Red Squirrels
SSRS is a partnership project
between Scottish Wildlife Trust
(SWT), Scottish Natural Heritage
(SNH), Forestry Commission
Scotland (FCS) and the Scottish
Rural Property and Business
Association (SRPBA).
Illustration by James Hood
Page 10

Useful Contacts
European Squirrel Initiative 01394 386919
www.europeansquirrelinitiative.org
mail@europeansquirrelinitiative.org
Centre for Invasive Species,
University of Copenhagen
www.cis.danbif.dk
Cornwall Red Squirrel Project 01208 872612
(Giles Clotworthy, Press Officer)
DAISE,
Delivering Alien Invasive Species
Inventories for Europe
Friends of the Anglesey Red Squirrels
Penrith and District Red Squirrel Group
Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels
Red Squirrel Survival Trust
www.europe-aliens.org
07966 150847 (Ann Hesson, Secretary)
www.redsquirrels.info
01768 483100 (Richard Dyke, Secretary)
www.penrithredsquirrels.org.uk
www.scottishsquirrels.org.uk
www.rsst.org.uk
0207 554 8579