Squirrels: Pest Control

(asked on 26th February 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of grey squirrels.


Answered by
Thérèse Coffey Portrait
Thérèse Coffey
This question was answered on 6th March 2018

We are working together with a range of stakeholders under the UK Squirrel Accord (UKSA), which aims to promote partnership working to both increase public awareness and support for action to protect our red squirrels and woodlands from the damage caused by grey squirrels. Defra and the Forestry Commission are signatories to the UK Squirrel Accord and are represented on the Accord Executive Committee. Under the joint grey squirrel action plan for England, Defra and the Forestry Commission (FC) are committed to working with land owners and other organisations to implement a package of measures to support targeted grey squirrel control. The action plan includes:

  • Additional measures in forestry options of Countryside Stewardship for land managers to control grey squirrels (not just in red squirrel areas but in woodlands where squirrels are a threat to management plan objectives).
  • Support for research and evidence.
  • Taking action on the FC’s own land holding (the public forest estate).

A team at the Animal Plant and Health Agency (APHA) National Wildlife Management Centre is leading development of a contraceptive for grey squirrels. Defra provided initial funding of £39k in 2016/17 and a further £55k for 2017/18. Our contribution helped secure a further £125,000 for the APHA project from charitable trusts and the private sector coordinated through the UK Squirrel Accord and, although complementary, the Defra and UKSA funded work are separate projects.

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