Plan to cull grey squirrels in north Devon coastal woodland

[Still Waters]

A scheme is being set up in north Devon and Somerset to help support the reintroduction of red squirrels.

Red Squirrel South West was awarded government funding to establish a management programme for grey squirrels between Ilfracombe and Minehead.

It will involve culling the animals in a 35-mile (56km) corridor of coastal woodland.

Red squirrel populations were decimated in most of the UK after grey ones were first introduced in 1876.

Greys are also carry squirrel pox, which they are immune to, but red squirrels are not.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-63823788

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[+Hammerclaw]

8 hours ago, Still Waters said:

A scheme is being set up in north Devon and Somerset to help support the reintroduction of red squirrels.

Red Squirrel South West was awarded government funding to establish a management programme for grey squirrels between Ilfracombe and Minehead.

It will involve culling the animals in a 35-mile (56km) corridor of coastal woodland.

Red squirrel populations were decimated in most of the UK after grey ones were first introduced in 1876.

Greys are also carry squirrel pox, which they are immune to, but red squirrels are not.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-63823788

Related:

 

Yeah, Greys are a pesky introduced species that thrive on deciduous mast crops. They're not particularly interested in coniferous woodlands to which your native Reds retreated in the face of the Grey onslaught. Still, better Greys than our Fox Squirrels that are twice their size.

Edited December 3, 2022 by Hammerclaw