Hands off our grey squirrels

GREY squirrels are often blamed for a range of crimes. Because of this they have suffered culls and been easy targets for bloodsports enthusiasts.

Now, injured and orphaned squirrels have had their only lifeline removed by the government. Licences to release rescued grey squirrels back into the wild were withdrawn at the end of 2019, forcing rescue centres to make the heart-breaking choice of either euthanising grey squirrels or keeping them in captivity for the rest of their lives.

Grey squirrels did not “invade” this country, they were brought here by humans. They are not trying to “take over” or “drive” the red squirrels away. They have simply been successful in a rapidly changing habitat, where red squirrels sadly have not.

Grey squirrels do not do anything to intentionally harm red squirrels. While their decline is very sad there are more effective and humane ways of helping red squirrels than killing greys. It’s also worth remembering red squirrels do exist outside the UK and are listed as a species of “least concern” on the IUCN red list of threatened species.

The truth is greys aren’t nearly as responsible for the decline of reds as squirrel culling initiatives would have you believe. Changing climate, changing habitats, deforestation, traffic accidents and past culling have all had a significant impact on the red squirrel population. It is wrong to blame this solely on grey squirrels and to mistreat and kill them as a result.

Britain is supposed to be a nation of animal lovers yet we are expected to turn a blind eye to the suffering of particular wildlife because of their “non-native” origin. We are forcing wildlife rescuers to prematurely end the lives of healthy animals, or condemn them to life in a cage, which many see as unethical and unmanageable.

Mr J Bucke Bridgend