Government plans to protect species by increasing woodland and removing greys, but campaigners say it needs to go further
When Sam Beaumont sees a flash of red up a tree on his Lake District farm, he feels a swell of pride. He’s one of the few people in England who gets to see red squirrels in his back garden.
“I feel very lucky to have them on the farm. It’s an important thing to try and keep a healthy population of them. They are absolutely beautiful,” he said.
Most of us are much more familiar with their sturdy, grey American cousins. But once there were 3.4 million red squirrels in the UK, and with their glossy auburn fur, delicate frames and big tufty ears, they are the endangered animal whose loss Britons perhaps feel most deeply.
The non-native grey squirrels, which were introduced from 1876, have pushed their way into every corner of England, outcompeting the reds for food and carrying a disease called squirrelpox, which does not affect them but is fatal to the red population. However, some campaigners have raised welfare concerns over what they see as a “demonisation” of grey squirrels.
