Battle on to save red squirrels

[Still Waters]

More than £1m is to be spent over the next three years on saving Scotland's red squirrels and protecting routes into their northern strongholds.

The number or reds has been in decline since the arrival of the grey squirrel from North America in the 19th Century.

Greys compete with reds for food and can also carry the squirrel pox virus, which can kill reds in about 14 days.

There are currently about 121,000 red squirrels in Scotland and the country is home to 75% of the UK's reds.

There are thought to be between 200,000 and 300,000 greys in Scotland.

The £1.3m Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels (SSRS) project has been launched in Dunkeld, Perthshire.

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[EyeWonder]

I'm all for saving the animals...but with 121,000 red squirrels still here in my opinion, that's a LOT of money and some of it could be spent on saving other, more endangered animals.

Nevertheless, it's still a good thing they're doing and I'm glad at least some people care.

[thefinalfrontier]

Hi SW;

Up in the northern parts of the US we have mostly Red Or (fox) squirrels,, Down here in the south we see alot of grey squirrels, I hope your country can eradicate the greys as they are in the thousands and need to be controlled,

Good Luck to you UK