Squirrels: Conservation

(asked on 21st June 2021) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many conservation projects to reintroduce red squirrels have been undertaken in the last two years; and how many of those projects were successful.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 24th June 2021

We work, through the UK Squirrel Accord, with a number of organisations towards the conservation and recovery of red squirrels in England. This work is primarily focused on the management of habitat for the benefit of red squirrels and the culling of grey squirrels to reduce competition and the spread of squirrel pox. Additionally, we continue to support the development of fertility control for grey squirrels. We are not aware of any projects which seek to reintroduce red squirrels into areas from which they have been lost.

The recently announced Species Reintroduction Taskforce will bring together experts, landowners and NGOs to prioritise, share knowledge, find consensus and build collaborative projects, towards a more ambitious approach to recovering iconic species in England such as red squirrel.

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