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Red squirrel conservation - quotations from different web sources

Why are the Red Squirrels under protection?

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Click to see the image better!'This is mainly as a result of the spread of the introduced grey squirrel which is better able to live in most broadleaved and mixed woodland areas, although habitat fragmentation and disease may also have played a part.Red squirrels are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (W&CA) and the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, which make it an offence to intentionally kill, injure, take or sell the animal, or damage, destroy or obstruct access to its nesting place. Grey squirrels are not protected and their release or introduction is prohibited.'

Introduction to the Red Squirrel conservation

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'The red squirrel is protected in most of the Europe, as it listed in Appendix III of the Bern Convention; it is also listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. In some areas red squirrel is abundant and is hunted for its fur. Although not thought to be under any threat worldwide, the red squirrel has drastically reduced in number in the United Kingdom. Fewer than 140,000 individuals are thought to be left, approximately 85% of which are in Scotland. This population decrease is often ascribed to the introduction of the eastern grey squirrel from North America, but the loss and fragmentation of its native woodland habitat has also played a major role.

Click to see the image better! In order to conserve the remaining numbers of the red squirrel, the UK government in January 2006 announced a mass culling programme for the eastern grey squirrel. This was welcomed by many conservation groups. An earlier cull of the eastern grey squirrel began in 1998 on the North Wales island of Anglesey. This facilitated the natural recovery of the remaining red squirrel populations and has been followed by the successful reintroduction of the red squirrel into Newborough Forest. The UK has established a local programme known as the "North East Scotland Biodiversity Partnership", an element of the national Biodiversity Action Plan. This programme is administered by the Grampian Squirrel Society, with an aim of protecting the red squirrel; the programme centres on the Banchory and Cults areas.

There are also several local conservation groups in the UK, for example, the Red Squirrel Conservation group in Mallerstang, Cumbria, and the National Trust reserve in Formby.

Outside the UK and Ireland, the threat from the eastern grey squirrel comes from a population in Piedmont, Italy, where two pairs escaped from captivity in 1948. A significant drop in red squirrel populations in the area has been observed since 1970, and it is feared that the eastern grey squirrel may expand into the rest of Europe.

Research undertaken in 2007 in the UK credits the Pine Marten with reducing the population of the invasive eastern grey squirrel in the UK. Where the range of the expanding Pine Marten population meets that of the eastern grey squirrel, the population of these squirrels retreats. It is theorised that because the grey squirrel spends more time on the ground than the red, that they are far more likely to come in contact with this predator'.


UK strategy for Red Squirrel conservation

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'The UK Strategy for red squirrel conservation (Joint Nature Conservation Committee, 1996), prepared in consultation with a wide range of interested parties, identified aims in priority order as:
  1. To maintain self-sustaining populations of red squirrels in areas where red squirrel populations are healthy and where grey squirrels are currently rare or absent. Such areas might be either unsuitable for grey squirrels or vulnerable to grey squirrel invasion.
  2. Wherever practicable, to maintain or expand red squirrel populations that are currently threatened because of isolation, small size or proximity to grey squirrel populations.
  3. To reintroduce red squirrels to selected areas in their former natural range where the ecosystem can be effectively managed to support viable populations.

The key messages of the Strategy are that:

  1. sustainable woodland management favouring reds and discouraging greys is the preferred option;
  2. it may not be possible to protect all current populations and reintroduction of reds should only be considered after aims 1 and 2 have been fully addressed.

The UK Species Action Plan for red squirrels was published in 1995. It is the means of implementing the UK Strategy and it sets targets for action up until 2010.

Key contributory actions:

  1. Ensure effective implementation of relevant legislation.
  2. Improve knowledge through conservation research and advice.
  3. Promote education and awareness of red squirrel conservation.
  4. Survey and monitor red squirrel populations'.

Squirrels roped into road safety

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Squirrel on a rope 'The Isle of Wight has introduced a road safety measure to protect its most timid pedestrians - red squirrels. Dozens die on the roads every year. Last year's death toll was at least 40. Inspired by a television advertisement for lager shown several years ago, animal lovers came up with a novel yet seemingly foolproof way to avoid such tragedies taking place. Take one 40ft rope and attach it from one side of the road to the other to act as a bridge for squirrels. The rope should be high enough to clear any danger below and wide enough to accommodate the most clumsy claw. Then place a handful of nuts on either side of the rope to encourage the furry pedestrians onto the rope. Organisers devised the safety route after watching the advertisement for Bass Breweries, which shows a red squirrel completing a complicated aerial obstacle course with agility and speed to the tune of Mission Impossible. The new measure was a gamble, but one which has been worth taking, according to Helen Butler of the Wight Squirrel Project. "It is the only way to get them across the road without getting killed, and it works. There was only one seen on the road about four or five days after it was put up," she said. The red squirrel is very dear to the inhabitants of the Isle of Wight, becoming the island's official mascot last year'.


Bibliography

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Official documents


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GENERAL INFORMATION General information about squirrels
How to distingush red and grey? IS IT RED OR GREY?
GREY VS RED Grey vs Red
Squirrelpox virus SQUIRRELPOX VIRUS
RED SQUIRREL CONSERVATION Red squirrel conservation
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