New red squirrel signs put in place
Safety campaign success
Signs warning drivers of the presence of red squirrels on rural roads have been installed following a campaign to protect the animals.
In March this year, Tom Bowser, owner of Argaty Red Kites, located at Lerrocks Farm, called for a deterrent to be put in place to save the small mammals from passing traffic.
In the 18 months up until March, 14 red squirrels died, 13 of which have been found by the roadside leading to the visitor attraction, near Doune.
The safety bid was backed by Trossachs and Teith councillors, Martin Earl and Evelyn Tweed, and MSPs Bruce Crawford and Dean Lockhart.
In July, we told how approval was granted to erect signs warning drivers of the danger of squirrels on the road.
The signs were finally installed last week, much to Mr Bowser’s delight.
A sign has been erected at both the top and bottom end of the road, near the entrance to Argaty Red Kites, warning road users of the potential of red squirrels for one mile.
He said: “It’s been a long time coming so I’m delighted. Hopefully it works and we start to see the population grow across the area.”
A Stirling Council study found no evidence of cars speeding along the route and determined the road was unsuitable for traffic-calming measures which can be provided in an urban setting, as legislation prohibited the use of road humps in areas with no street lighting.
In May, Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said the Scottish Government had approved official road signs warning road users of the presence of red squirrels for a number of locations across Scotland and would back similar applications at other locations considered appropriate.
Warning signs have also been installed in Brig o’ Turk, on the main A821 road, at either end of the village.
Councillor Tweed, SNP, said: “It will make a huge difference in Doune where we are losing so many squirrels on the roads here. It’s great that Transport Scotland finally signed this off. It’s been a long time coming but I’m glad the signage is now installed.
“I’m also pleased that another area in my ward, Brig o’ Turk, has just had the squirrel signage erected which I also pushed for. Well done to everyone who was involved in this campaign but especially to Tom Bowser for bringing it to public attention.”
Councillor Earl, Conservative, added: “I hope they will make drivers more aware that going that little bit slower can make all the difference. I would like to thank Tom for raising the problems at Argaty and others who did the same in Brig o’Turk. There are more places that have been identified and I hope we see similar signs installed at these places as well.”
Red squirrels are Scotland’s only native squirrel species.
Populations have been on a serious decline, with only around 120,000 remaining in Scotland today. In some places they have not been seen for many years.
Red squirrels are under threat in Scotland due to the spread of non– native grey squirrels, which carry the fatal squirrelpox virus. It infects red squirrels and can cause them to die a slow painful death over a two-week period.