The True History of Grey Squirrels in Britain by John Bryant, Independent Wildlife Consultant

Anti-Red Squirrel Campaigns and released in various parts of England - particularly from Woburn Park from 1889. Over the next few Deforestation for agriculture, fuel and war caused years, Woburn Abbey sent grey squirrels to sites in red squirrels to become extinct in Ireland and South Denbighshire, Yorkshire, Kew Gardens, Cheshire, Scotland by the early 18th century, and rare in the Ireland and London Zoo, which in turn sent some to Scottish Highlands by the early 19th century. Reds Dorset. were reintroduced to Scotland from England, and in 1793 Scandinavian Reds were brought in to save A series of hard winters and epidemic diseases, such the species. In 1837, 20,000 imported red squirrels as coccidiosis, added to the impact of continuing were sold in London – many of whom escaped into persecution by foresters and landowners, and had the wild. resulted in the disappearance of red squirrels over most of England. Parapoxvirus also hit Reds hard. Robert Burton, in his book Animal Life (Equinox It has been alleged that the disease was transmitted 1991), suggests that such reintroductions might have by Greys, who are immune to the virus. In fact, out diluted the gene-pool of the ‘distinct British race of 44 districts where red squirrels were affected of squirrel’. He wrote: ‘Even before grey squirrels between 1900 and 1920, only four had grey squirrels were introduced from America, it [the red squirrel] present! However, the stronger Greys, more suited had been swamped by introduced continental red than Reds to British broadleaf woodlands, rapidly squirrels.’ became more widely established as the Reds disappeared. Boosted by the reintroduction of foreign Reds and by a massive reforestation of conifers replacing the Broadleaf woodland, red squirrel numbers recovered Anti-Grey Squirrel Campaigns rapidly and by the late 1800s reached peak numbers In 1931, The Field magazine launched an ‘Anti-Grey - described to be at ‘plague’ proportions. Hence, Squirrel Campaign’ and the Ministry of Agriculture, they were slaughtered in their hundreds of thousands Fisheries and Food (MAFF) encouraged the as woodland pests who strip bark, rob birds’ nests destruction of the species. But by then, 10,000 and raid gardens. square miles of Britain had been colonised. During the following six years, despite the campaign, the ‘It invades gardens, and will take peas from Grey’s range doubled. their pods as cleanly as a man. In spring it turns carnivorous and eats eggs and young birds. It Between 1945 and 1955, County Agriculture damages trees by biting bark and preventing Committees set up Grey Squirrel Clubs, which were the flow of sap.’ (Natural History – Animals, by provided with free shotgun cartridges by MAFF at George Jennison, curator of the Belle Vue Zoological taxpayers’ expense. This mass culling failed to Gardens 1927) prevent grey squirrels increasing both in numbers and range, and in 1953 the Forestry Commission Between 1900 and 1925, red squirrel numbers launched a ‘bounty scheme’, which encouraged the declined drastically under human persecution, which public to capture and kill grey squirrels, cut off their in Hampshire’s New Forest officially ended only tails and take them to a police station to receive a in 1927. Since 1876, the Reds had been slowly shilling for each tail. replaced by North American grey squirrels imported A 1953 shilling would be worth around £2 today. After three years of this subsidised slaughter the ‘reward’ for a Grey’s tail was doubled and remained www.animalaid.org.uk • tel: 01732 364546 at two shillings until the scheme was abandoned in 1957. More than one million squirrels had been killed under the four year ‘bounty scheme’, costing taxpayers at least £3million and yet, at the end, the grey squirrels were more numerous than ever and covered an extended range, despite all the shooting and trapping.

By the 1970s, the Forestry Commission at last acknowledged in its Grey Squirrel Control leaflet:

‘It is impossible to organise systematic, concerted control over its extensive range. The high rate of replacement which results from rapid breeding and quick dispersal makes it unlikely that any future campaign would be more successful.’ factfile factfile www.animalaid.org.uk • tel: 01732 364546 quality furniture. Inlate2014inKent,oneminor trees grownto more than100yearsofagefor top except forsome mostlyaestheticflawsinhigh-value beings, damagefromsquirrels isinsignificant– Compared withthedestruction oftreesbyhuman source forsquirrels. and fedongraininwinter–providing anextrafood where pheasantswerebeingreared forshooting do withfoodshortagesand,indeed, wasprevalent year toyear,andhasbeenfoundbenothing sometimes beserious.However,itissporadicfrom Both RedandGreysquirrelsstripbarkitcan wood hadencounterednosquirreldamage. found thatfivemillspurchasedthebestquality A FCsurveyofsawmillsintheChilterns1973 health orvalueofthetree! necessarily anindicationofanyeffectonthesize, the levelofdamagetobarkfromsquirrelswasnot Furthermore, in1973theFChadadmittedthat was exposedatonepoint–thesizeofa5pcoin! ‘damage’ wasthatmorethan100sqmmofwood ‘damaged’ bygreysquirrels.Infact,thedefinitionof per centofbeechtreesintheChilternshadbeen of theFCcampaignwasitsclaimthatmorethan95 claim hastilydeniedbytheFC.However,atcore by capturingandkillingsquirrelsintheirgardens-a that theFCwantedpublictojoinincampaign, Thames andChilterns’.The most seriousthreattobroadleavedwoodlandsinthe FC announced:‘Thegreysquirrelisprobablythe replaced ournativeredsquirrelintheChilterns’.The this introducedanimalfromtheUSA,whichhas been setupto‘encouragetheeffectivecontrolof Commission announcedthata‘controlgroup’had in April1994apressreleasefromtheForestry The campaign,likeallothersbeforeit,failed,and were excludedfromthemasspoisoning. affected. Forthesamereason,ScotlandandWales except foreightcountieswhereredsquirrelscouldbe permitting thepoisoningofgreysquirrelsinEngland, implemented theGreysquirrel(Warfarin)Order1973 and MembersofParliament,theGovernment National Trust,havingsofteneduppublicopinion propaganda campaign,supportedbythe With theForestryCommission’santi-grey intense. that thepainofhaemorrhageintojointsisparticularly joints was‘common’.Humanhaemophiliacsconfirm poisoned squirrelsrevealedthathaemorrhageinto Commission itselfreportingthatpost-mortemsof It isparticularlycruelforsquirrels,withtheForestry Pesticide SafetyDirectorateas‘markedlyinhumane’. internal bleeding,isdescribedbythegovernment’s leads tovictimsdyingslowlyovermanydaysfrom wildlife foodchain.Anti-coagulantpoisoning,which animals -mostlydogsandcontaminatedtheentire poisons havekilledthousandsofnon-targetdomestic and weasels.Yetwenowknowthatanti-coagulant secondary effectsonpredatorssuchasfoxes,stoats animals andthattherewas’noevidence’of would cause‘littlehazard’tootherwoodland Commission assuredtheRSPCAthatthispoisoning with theanti-coagulantWarfarin.TheForestry Parliament toacceptmasspoisoningofgreysquirrels launched anattempttopersuadethepublicand contemptuously labelledgreysquirrelsas‘tree-rats’) a highlysuccessfulmediapropagandacampaignthat And yet,in1973,theForestryCommission(following Daily Telegraph reported once coveredBritain. were anywayonlyatinyfractionoftheforestthat 50 percentofourBritishancientwoodlands,which Since theendofWorldWar2,wehavedestroyed recently promisedroadschemes? Speed railschemes,andthecoalitiongovernment’s point. HowmanytreeswillbedestroyedintheHigh minutes’ frustrationatalong-standingtrafficpinch- mature andimmaturetrees–alltosavedriversafew involving thecuttingdownoftensthousands one hundredacresofirreplaceableancientforest– re-routing schemefortheA21destroyedaround November 2008.) belief.’ (S.Harris,CD.Soulsbury &G.Iossa. However, thereislittleevidence tosupportthis numbers isthebestwayofconservingredsquirrels. ‘It iswidelyarguedthatcontrollinggreysquirrel be reintroducedagain. squirrels dodisappearfromBritain,theycouldeasily introduced Europeanstock,andsoevenifred native toBritain,manyofthepopulationsarerecently money isnotspentwisely.Whilstredsquirrelsare spent onredsquirrelconservation.However,this The reportadded:‘Largesumsofmoneyarebeing spread ofdisease.’ increase inforestdamagelevels,andthe may leadtoanincreasedlocaliseddensityand could leadtomoreproblemsthansolutions.Culling Their finalreportconcluded:‘Cullingofgreysquirrels red squirrelpopulations?’ the cullingofgreysquirrelsaviabletactictoconserve School ofBiologicalSciencesposedthequestion:‘Is Finally, in2008,scientistsatBristolUniversity’s balance thecostsinvolved.’ grounds, asthereisnoapparentbenefitto out anannualcullofsquirrelsoneconomic would seemtobelittlejustificationforcarrying conservation valueratherthanasacrop,there woodland thatismaintainedfortheamenityor ‘…where thesquirrelsareinhabitingancient (now NaturalEngland)stated: In November1986,theNatureConservancyCouncil factfile www.animalaid.org.uk • tel: 01732 364546 On thereplacementofredsquirrelinBritain:aphytotoxicexplanation.REKenward andJHolm,ProceedingsoftheRoyalSociety1993. Service, MAFF.JournalofWildlifeManagement48(2)1984 Assessment ofSecondaryPoisoningHazardWarfarintoLeastWeasels,Towsend, Bunyan, Odam,Stanley&Wardell,AgriculturalScience The EffectonBeechofBark-StrippingbyGreySquirrels,PCMercer.ForestryCommission Review 57,199-203,1984 The FrequencyofAnimalPoisoningbyWarfarin,BAshworth,VeterinaryRecord,July 14th1973. Effects ofGreySquirrelDamage,HWPepper,WildlifeResearchSection,ForestryCommission, May7th1973. Grey SquirrelPublicity,October1972–July1973,ForestryCommissionDocument1973. Grey SquirrelDamage,JudithRowe,ForestryCommissionDocument1973. Grey SquirrelBark-Stripping2,ManagementofWoodlandHabitats,Kenward,Parish& Doyles, QuarterlyReviewofForestryApril1988. Competition betweenRed&GreySquirrels,KathleenMcKinnon,MammalReview1978,Vol8,No4,185–190. Papers The RedSquirrel,JohnGurnell,MammalSociety,1994 Squirrels, MonicaShorten,MAFFBulletinNo184,1962 Grey SquirrelControl,JudithRowe,FCLeafletNo56.1973 The GreySquirrel,ForestryCommissionLeafletNo311962 Booklets Squirrels, JessicaHolm,WhittetBooks1987 Man &Beast,RonFreethy,BlandfordPress1983 Animal Life,RogerBurton,Equinox1991 Wildlife inCornwall,RennieBere,BradfordBurton1970 The KeepersBook,SirPeterJeffreyMackie,Foulis&Co1924 Wildlife inBritain&Ireland,RichardPerry,CroomHelmLtd1978 Books References the UrbanFox(co-author)andTheMouseStranglers. His publishedbooksinclude,FetteredKingdoms,AnimalSanctuary,LivingwithUrbanWildlife,Unearthing and pigeons. lethal methodsofresolvingproblemswithso-called‘urbanpests’,includingfoxes,squirrels,rats,mice the last16yearshehasoperatedhisowncompanyadvisingandassistingpeopletofindhumane,non- He hasbeenaconsultantforseveralparliamentarians,whohavepromotedwildlifeprotectionbills,and Animal Sanctuary,LeagueAgainstCruelSports,RSPCAandProtectOurWildAnimals. Over thepast45years,JohnBryanthasheldvoluntaryorprofessionalpositionswithinAnimalAid,Ferne John Bryant