Jordi Bas Casas/Newscom
Red squirrels are native to Britain.
Britain: No more American gray squirrels – we want our reds back
Britain's population of gray squirrels exploded after North Americans introduced them in the 19th century. But now the Isle of Anglesey is fighting back – by mass extermination of grays and bringing back the native reds.
By Ben Quinn | Correspondent 11.05.09
• A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.
LONDON – They’re small, furry, and undeniably cute – and yet the explosion of Britain’s nonnative gray squirrel population has long been regarded as a conservation crisis.
But now nature lovers are looking with hope toward the Isle of Anglesey, an island off the northwest coast of Wales, which is the setting for a successful local reintroduction of Britain’s native red squirrel.
An endangered species, their numbers nationwide have been ravaged by a pox carried by the larger, more aggressive grays, which were introduced as living garden ornaments from North America in 1876 by upper-class families.
A project on the island has seen thousands of grays, which are highly destructive of hardwood trees, trapped and removed. Reds (which also have their detractors) have been simultaneously brought back, and conservation groups are hoping to do the same in other peninsulas and islands.
Dr. Craig Shuttleworth of the Anglesey red squirrel conservation project said: “There has been pessimism about how the red squirrel can be brought back, but we are close to succeeding here. It’s true that we have been helped by geography – the fact that we are on an island – but there are lessons that can be applied elsewhere.”
Such projects have not been without controversy, however. Some animal rights supporters opposed the mass killing of grays. Nevertheless, public support has been forthcoming for projects such the Anglesey one.
Dr. Shuttleworth, whose work is supported by the Prince of Wales, added: “People sometimes ask, ‘What is the point?’ and say that reds are common on the European continent.
“But we can’t lose sight of the fact that reds are a very popular part of our natural fauna here in Britain. If we can’t safeguard them, then what hope do we have in protecting other species which are less popular with the public?”
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2. peter38a | 11.05.09
May we take your post as volunteering to self eliminate onald? But a little squirrel tells me no, you have ‘someone else’ in mind. How incredibly virtuous.
3. AnimalLover | 11.05.09
Humans have nothing else better to do. Squirrels are awesome little animals!
4. Chris Parker | 11.06.09
Mankind is just as much a part of nature as any other animal. Therefore, anything we do to nature is natural.
That includes our part in assisting the natural spread of species around the world with the natural disputes over habitat that come with the introduction of new species.
The PC environmentalist view that “status quo” is (or has ever been) natural in nature is delusional.
This also applies to Global Warming alarmists. And no it is NOT Climate Change. Going from the specific to the vague is unscientific and dishonest. We are not arguing over the existence of “change” - we are arguing over whether it is warming at a dangerous rate or not.
5. Toby Evans | 11.06.09
As a lifelong resident of the good old USA, I have never heard that gray squirrels are “highly destructive of hardwood trees”. They squirrel away nuts but in what respect are they destructive? There are plenty of hardwood trees in the United States and Canada. Perhaps the squirrels affect the ecology, that would be interesting to know, as well. More background on that would have made the article both more interesting and more believable. It just sounds like bias.
6. John Blackburn | 11.06.09
It needs to be said again: greys are largely ground-based in their feeding while reds are arboreal. Without connected, ’steady state’ woodland, or better still coniferous forest, reds will NOT return to their former range throughout the UK.
8. Gramaldi | 11.06.09
I’m a British US resident. We have grey and red squirrels co-existing on our Wisconsin property. US red squirrels are ferocious and chase the greys away persistently. Perhaps a cross between the British & US reds would give the Brit squirrels more ferocity, enabling their survival on the mainland also.
9. tam | 11.06.09
I know it’s just squirrels, pesky little critters they are…. And yet, the extermination of “gray” in favor of “red” sounds vaguely racist. Isn’t a squirrel just a squirrel? What matters the color of fur or skin?
10. D Black in Austin | 11.06.09
I love when humans try to control nature, to deliver a more comfortable result. And when it is done because one species or sub-species is more “popular” than another, it takes on a frightening dimension. We didn’t like those pesky bison.We don’t like wolves. When will we ever learn?
12. CALCOTA | 11.06.09
Reds were introduced to California too. The color of the fur is not important. They both make great hats - and are both equally as tasty - as far as the gray coyotes and red foxes are concerned - they don’t care the color. Come to think of it; I might take a taste myself, especially if they keep eating my avocados! (:>}) - Chow!
13. Jim Smith | 11.06.09
Thank goodness all the clueless bleeding hearts on this forum are not in positions of influence in the U.K. (or elsewhere).
Invasive species are one of the most urgent problems facing our planet’s environment.
Just as European Starlings should be eliminated from North America for the sake of our ecology, so should Gray Squirrels be eliminated from the U.K.
Gray Squirrels = tree rats.
* I also wonder how many of you bleeding hearts eat meat, and are therefore hypocrites?
Jim Smith
14. Mark Viehmann | 11.06.09
All very interesting points, I must say. I especially enjoyed Jim’s post about invasive species. Giant frogs and boar in Australia; rats in Hawaii, starlings in America, Kill them all. Good luck.
15. Michael McKinnon | 11.06.09
Rats were carried over to Hawaii on ships. When they became a problem it was decided to introduce mongooses to control them. Unfortunately one species is nocturnal and the other diurnal. So they just added another problem. Be careful how you “solve” problems!
16. purplesquirel | 11.06.09
Figures that an upper-class twit was the cause of this problem.
Still, the Americans brought the gray squirrel to England and the English brought the dandelion to America. I’d say we’re even.
17. Jerry | 11.07.09
I foresee the gray and red squirrels uniting against man in the end, and bringing doom upon us all. Side with the squirrels before it’s too late, and be spared! Squirrely wrath upon us all!
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1. onald | 11.05.09
Once again human interference results in the harming of animals! We should be eliminating some humans instead. Go squirrels!!!