'Forgotten' Massacre Of 100,000 RED Squirrels Highlights Hypocrisy Over New Grey Squirrel Law20/1/2019 "Marketing the red as a 'national treasure' and the grey as a 'pest' merely transfers the label from one innocent species to another when all along the real problem, as usual, has been human interference in nature...."
A little while ago I added my name to a petition. It calls on the British government to amend a new law that will criminalise wildlife rescuers who rehabilitate grey squirrels. From March, under new regulations, it will be illegal to release rescued greys back into the wild - they will have to be kept in controlled captivity under strict licencing - or exterminated. The licencing criteria are not clear at this point. What is clear is that the government has labelled the grey squirrel as a pest that needs to be 'managed'. Whatever your opinion on grey squirrels, surely intervening to help any animal in distress amounts to a simple matter of compassion. To save a life is something that most of us find an instinctively kind and correct thing to do. So it was with dismay that I read a statement, issued yesterday by the government's environmental department DEFRA, in response to the 30,000+ people who have already signed the petition. Cold-hearted and frosty statement The words are so cold-hearted that they might have been written by a machine. Such a lack of compassion from the people tasked with protecting nature fills me with dismay. I quote from their frosty response here. "....the grey squirrel, will be managed through “eradication, population control or containment” measures." I've come to view that oft used term 'managed' as really quite sinister. They 'manage' badgers, rabbits, geese, ravens and any number of other species too. And we see their numbers declining. One might just as well replace 'manage' entirely with 'eradicate'. One justification given for removing grey squirrels is that they are invasive and are responsible for the decline in our native reds. That doesn't really hold water. The truth is that the demise of the red squirrel is almost entirely due to human persecution and decimation of its habitat. 102,900 RED squirrels massacred by hunters During the early part of the 20th century, gamekeepers and others viewed red squirrels as pests and a bounty was offered on their tails. In Scotland alone, between 1903 and 1946, 102,900 red squirrels were slaughtered. Now that memories of this mass killing of red squirrels have disappeared into the murky past, our newly found concern for the survival of the species has come too late - and along with a scapegoat, the grey squirrel. Marketing the red as a 'national treasure' and the grey as a 'pest' merely transfers the label from one innocent species to another when all along the real problem, as usual, has been human interference in nature. The new legislation will potentially give those who get their thrills from killing wild animals the green light to go and massacre squirrels again, this time greys instead of reds - with an official blessing from the government. How can that be right? Ancient woodlands destroyed - not by grey squirrels but by HS2 DEFRA's statement earnestly informs us that the government is deeply concerned over the future of our ancient woodlands. "Grey squirrels also cause damage to our broad-leaved and coniferous woodlands, with costs estimated at between £6 and £10 million per annum in Great Britain." No mention though of the 50 or more ancient woodlands that the government are willfully and recklessly destroying, completely and permanently, by building the new high speed railway HS2 right through them - and at a cost of 100 billion pounds. A bit of perspective - and honesty - is needed here I think; it actually seems that the 'problem' of squirrels destroying our woodlands is really quite insignificant compared to the damage caused to our woodlands by the government decision makers themselves. Here's another quote from the DEFRA statement. "Invasive species, including the grey squirrel, challenge the survival of our rarest species and damage some of our most sensitive ecosystems". We already know the red squirrel's demise is primarily down to people and not grey squirrels and that the government itself is more of a threat to our woodlands than grey squirrels could ever be; but what of the heartfelt concern over the 'survival of our rarest species'? Well I might take that more seriously had it not emanated from the same government departments behind the issuing of licences to shoot red and amber listed birds, including wrens, skylarks and robins. It all feels very contradictory doesn't it? Reluctance to engage with concerned public I've been campaigning to stop that government sanctioned killing of our wild birds, the petition is now at 91,000+ signatures, but regrettably I've found it difficult to engage with Natural England, the government department responsible for issuing the licences. Enquiries were initially met with silence and it took a freedom of information request to elicit a response. I broke the news on my blog and it was quickly picked up by the national press. Public outrage followed. And much of this was fuelled by the apparent indifference of DEFRA and Natural England who only issued a lacklustre statement after the news began to to go viral. Similar indignation is now growing at the new legislation over grey squirrels. DEFRA and Natural England really do need to engage more with the public of this country. Debate is necessary and healthy. A regrettable lack of human kindness. With regard to our grey squirrels, well whatever DEFRA's reason for wanting to 'eradicate' this now naturalised animal, a delightful creature that the people of this country have largely taken into their hearts, it is surely nothing to do with 'protecting our countryside', 'preserving our woodlands' or 'saving our red squirrels'. It is more to do with an agency that has been given the job of protecting our countryside but seems to have a skewed appreciation of nature and a regrettable lack of human kindness. Yet they feel they can decide, on behalf of us all - and without our consent - which species to 'manage and eradicate' and which to protect. At best their efforts appear erratic and insensitive. And at worst they show a total disregard for the concerns of the compassionate British public. You can sign the petition to save Grey Squirrels HERE The petition to stop the issuing of licences to kill rare birds is HERE
30 Comments
Katie Scott
21/1/2019 07:59:05 am
An excellent article I completely agree with you. Thank you.
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22/1/2019 09:24:01 pm
Meanwhile, the 'management' of deer has been opened to all and sundry: www.bit.ly/cordee
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23/1/2019 10:29:30 am
Every love grey squirrels have them were live brambles Salisbury leave them this government are destroying are wild life squirrels, are lovely very clever animals
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Ed Haddock
18/1/2023 09:37:48 am
Grey squirrels are not harmless vegetarians, they regularly eat eggs and live fledglings as part of their diet. This article focuses on the wrongs of man which I wholeheartedly agree and it is indeed not the Grey squirrels fault it was bought here. But the fact is Grey squirrels are an invasive pest and out of balance with the UK habitat. They are able to digest foodstuffs such as seeds, nuts & berries before they fully ripen and become available to other species. I've recently had someone local complaining to me about there being so few birds in her garden - the reason is because it us riddled with squirrels. As for effect on Reds, even without transmission of disease the Greys are larger, more aggressive and outcompete the Reds. Squirrels are aggressive and highly territorial, there is no harmony between the two species. I live in Cumbria and have decreasing population of Reds and rapidly increasing population of Greys, they do not co-exist, I see it first hand.
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Edward L Cole
9/5/2023 05:56:01 pm
It is cats that are causing the extinction of birds not Squirrels. The statistics show that Squirrels (Red or Gray) have no appreciable effect on the Bird population. People wont control Cats but Cats are full blown predators that eat birds Lots and Lots of bird and other endanger species. Cats also kill Squirrels. Cats leave most of the bodies of bird (and animals) they kill where you will not find them. They are not eating most of what they kill. They are killing more than you think way more. Do not believe me? Go to the internet and look up Cats and bird extinction.
Fergus MacRoth
28/1/2024 09:07:50 pm
Reds will take eggs, too.
Jenny Blue
21/1/2019 09:28:56 am
I'm in complete agreement...I find this type of hypocrisy sickening and the arrogance of so-called 'conservationists' who support this horrible cruelty through their ignorance of how things work in Nature or their own place in it....the lack of compassion in this cruel legislation is deeply upsetting !
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Sylvia Collingwood
21/1/2019 01:07:20 pm
I thought it was already illegal to release rescued greys back into the wild and have been puzzled by the recent animal rescue programmes I've watched where this has happened. While I can understand control of greys in areas where reds live (after all the greys do carry a virus they are immune to but can pass it onto reds which aren't) I can't understand such persecution where reds do not and have no likelihood of living. Wildlife in all it's forms is a pleasure to see.
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Elaine Sommers
9/5/2019 02:31:21 pm
Hi Sylvia, the pox that affects squirrels is more likely to be spread to the greys via the reds when they use the same feeding area.
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Edward L Cole
9/5/2023 06:37:54 pm
Are the Gray Squirrels immune to the Pox Virus. I ask someone who worked with Gray Squirrels how they become immune. He wrote this is news to me.. He sent me pictures of Gray Squirrels that have the Pox Virus and he has something he is giving people who have Gray Squirrels with Pox Virus to see if it can help them. He is in the US but why would the Gray Squirrels in the UK Be immune and not the ones in the US. There was a second sit In the US that also showed pictures of Gray Squirrels with Pox Virus. I can not say for sure that the Gray Squirrels in the UK are not immune to the Pox Virus but considering all the miss information being handed out about the Gray Squirrels and the decline of the Red Squirrels in the UK I do not think the Gray Squirrels there are immune to the Pox Virus. I think it is a justification for killing Gray Squirrels. Many of the Pox Virus outbreaks in the Red Squirrel population in the UK where were there was no Gray Squirrels around. If you blame the Gray Squirrel for these outbreaks and they are not the cause you will not find the real cause. Once a certain position becomes popular most sits will take this position and any sites with opposing views get pushed of to the side or even blocked and it will be hard or even impossible to find anything else. The Internet is horribly distorting everything to day. Do not trust the internet to give you the truth. Often the internet blocks The Truth and this is on all sorts of issue not just The Truth about the Decline of the Eurasian Red Squirrel.
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Fergus MacRoth
28/1/2024 09:14:22 pm
The virus can mutate.
Janice Larson
21/1/2019 02:29:42 pm
That was a very interesting read, for years I was given to believe that it was the Grey Squirrel's that affected the Red. As usual it's us humans.
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Steve Collins
21/1/2019 09:05:00 pm
Well said Jason. I agree with every word of your article. We have several friendly greys who visit our garden and they are a welcome sight. There are no reds in the area. You are absolutely right about the chilling language of 'management' and worse 'eradication', which advocate wholesale slaughter of these beautiful and harmless creatures.
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Debbie Macmillan
21/1/2019 10:21:38 pm
You have written this in the best way possible and hope they will see the truth in their mistake of listening to hunters and quangos with high opinions of themselves, rather than the many who spend their lives helping and healing the lovely grey squirrels!
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Simon Tucker
22/1/2019 07:36:37 pm
Sorry but you are completely wrong. To conflate an historical atrocity with a modern necessity is poor and shoddy journalism.
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Vivienne
1/2/2019 09:29:39 am
Thank you for a very balanced argument. There are two sides to every story and I agree with what you say.
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Guest
24/9/2020 08:32:13 pm
Though I can understand your comments regarding red squirrel recolonisation, it’s absolutely pitiful of you to compare Jason’s activism, which gives a voice to persecuted UK wildlife, with groups and organisations who are actually responsible for physically decimating our wildlife. Not only is that comparison wrong and based on a complete misunderstanding of power structures, but it’s also intentionally dishonest as well as childish.
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3/6/2021 03:02:19 pm
this hidden history of the human treatment of squirrels - at the time red - shows how we have learned nothing. these stats are kept hidden so prince charles and all the other idiots who get involved in conservation arent shown to be the ignorance and stupid people they are. just like Tulsa slaughter of 300 black people 100 yrs ago is kept out of peoples minds and out of sight
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Edward L Cole
9/5/2023 07:43:01 pm
Are the Gray Squirrels immune to the Pox Virus. I ask someone who worked with Gray Squirrels how they become immune. He wrote this is news to me.. He sent me pictures of Gray Squirrels that have the Pox Virus and he has something he is giving people who have Gray Squirrels with Pox Virus to see if it can help them. He is in the US but why would the Gray Squirrels in the UK Be immune and not the ones in the US. There was a second sit In the US that also showed pictures of Gray Squirrels with Pox Virus. I can not say for sure that the Gray Squirrels in the UK are not immune to the Pox Virus but considering all the miss information being handed out about the Gray Squirrels and the decline of the Red Squirrels in the UK I do not think the Gray Squirrels there are immune to the Pox Virus. I think it is a justification for killing Gray Squirrels. Many of the Pox Virus outbreaks in the Red Squirrel population in the UK where were there was no Gray Squirrels around. If you blame the Gray Squirrel for these outbreaks and they are not the cause you will not find the real cause. Once a certain position becomes popular most sits will take this position and any sites with opposing views get pushed of to the side or even blocked and it will be hard or even impossible to find anything else. The Internet is horribly distorting everything to day. Do not trust the internet to give you the truth. Often the internet blocks The Truth and this is on all sorts of issue not just The Truth about the Decline of the Eurasian Red Squirrel.
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Fergus MacRoth
28/1/2024 09:21:39 pm
He isn't wrong, Simon. He just says something you disagree with.
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David Saxby
22/1/2019 07:48:14 pm
This is an excellent article Jason. Here is a little bit more to add.
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22/1/2019 09:34:34 pm
HRH Charles plans to use a DEFRA contraception method to stop grey squirrel from reproducing in SE Cornwall, where his Duchy have a strong presence. The environment is pretty here but dominated by pine plantations and innervated by high speed traffic. Greys don't flourish and they beat a hasty retreat up the pine trees if you walk in the small forests. Reds won't be tough enough and they need oak trees. www.bit.ly/hawpoi
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Paul Kelly
23/1/2019 08:42:50 am
Who ever is advising on the Grey is a fool and knows nothing about it or the red for that matter. I can recommend some good BASIC text books on the subject. I wounder what these people's agenda is it is certainly not a they advance.
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T Burton
4/3/2019 10:35:29 pm
I walk in a quiet RSPB owned woodland most mornings and was horrified to discover this morning that a number of squirrel traps have been erected. The traps are labeled as belonging to a local red squirrel group and state they have been lawfully laid with permission of the land owner. The labels also say that to tamper with the traps is a criminal offence. I find it really disturbing that they intend to lure in unsuspecting grey squirrels (I have never seen a red here) with handfuls of tempting nuts, then shoot them once trapped. Ironically, I had to rescue a blackbird from a squirrel trap on woodland trust land this time last year. The man from the red squirrel group who came to check the traps on woodland trust land was always dressed top to toe in camouflage gear and carrying a rifle several feet long! I considered this RSPB woodland to be a tiny, peaceful wildlife haven where one could temporarily escape from the activities of man - no longer is it so! It seems like humans are compelled to interfere and so often to do so destructively.
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Elaine Sommers
9/5/2019 02:37:31 pm
T Burton, if you go to Facebook and mention this in the Nests not Netting group, and also the Urban Squirrels group you might get some joy. They are very active and know the right people to contact, and the way to deal with this kind of thing. You would need to provide them with the location detaila of course.
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Edward L Cole
9/5/2023 08:49:47 pm
I have read just recently about some Squirrels that where trapped and how they where killed. It was horrifying. An American observer describes what happened to a squirrel that had been in a trap in the truck of a car for a while and was brought out to be killed. The American observer describe the Squirrel running around making a pitiful Whee Whee Whee noise. The first shot did not kill The Squirrel and there was blood dripping from the Squirrels mouth. The Squirrel ran around making the same noise for a while but finally gave up when the Squirrel realized it had no way out. It was shot again and was withering around described as like a brake dance. One of the people involved in the shooting said this is just death trough the Squirrel is dead. Was the pitiful Whee Whee Whee from fright? Was it a plea for mercy. If it was a plea for mercy it went unheard. There was no mercy for this Squirrel.
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Squirrel Manning
11/10/2020 10:04:08 pm
Red squirrels are not a park and garden squirrel, they prefer forests. So if you want to see squirrels in your garden, then unless your home backs on to a forest, you are likely to see greys. I love watching them in my local park in London. And the rats.
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Daphne Johnson
12/4/2021 03:13:59 pm
What do we have to do to stop them destroying all that is precious. The Government have a blatant disregard for petitions, answering with nothing but condescending arrogance. Humans interfere with nature at their own peril. I am heartbroken seeing and hearing what we do to all the inhabitants of this planet, how cruelty is encouraged and given consent in the law. We need to develop a fire in our belly to save what they want to destroy and not let that fire go out. Your article is truth.
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Edward L Cole
9/5/2023 08:56:52 pm
I am wondering how many People want the killing of Gray Squirrels. Even if most people do not want Gray Squirrels to be killed, a few groups of people can to go out and kill thousands of them.
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19/10/2023 08:01:49 pm
I love the Eastern Gray Squirrels that visit me. Most of what is on he internet is for killing the Gray Squirrels in the UK. The articles advocating Cruelly to the gray squirrels in the name of saving the red Squirrels makes me sick. The pictures hunters take of mass killing is also sick. I am wondering if anything can stop the Gray Squirrel Cull. The War Crimes committed in the wars going on today by both sides and the Gray Squirrel Cull are sickening. Does the wanton killing of Squirrels and other innocent animals make people insensitive to killing anything, Including Other People. A Lot of The World is sick today. Men have been killing each other in wars for a long time and still are.
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