Control officers to keep deadly virus in check
Grey squirrels in south facing a cull
Published:
A team of countryside officers is being dispatched to the south of Scotland to tackle a threat to the native red squirrels.
Four control officers are being appointed to try to prevent the spread of a deadly virus which is carried by grey squirrels but is fatal to the reds.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Four additional grey squirrel control officers are to be employed in Forestry Commission woodlands in the south of Scotland, where grey squirrels are most prevalent.
“As well as displacing red squirrels, non-native invasive greys have also brought the potentially devastating squirrelpox virus to Scotland.
“Evidence suggests that grey squirrels carry a natural immunity to the virus whilst red squirrels do not.”
According to a report in a Sunday newspaper, the control officers will undertake a culling programme, trapping and humanely killing greys.
They will be employed by the Forestry Commission and will be joined two Scottish Natural Heritage control officers already working in the area.
Environment Minister Mike Russell said: “The red squirrel is an increasingly rare sight around much of Scotland but, as an iconic species, we must do everything we can to protect them.”
But the idea of a grey squirrel cull has outraged animal-rights campaigners.
Ross Minnett, spokesman for Advocates for Animals, said: “It is morally questionable to kill grey squirrels to save red squirrels.
“We would also question whether these methods work.
“If you remove grey squirrels from one area, others will simply move in and the cull has to go on and on.”
