This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Public urged to join squirrel search
11/01/2006
Leaflets have been distributed at countryside agencies and country parks throughout Scotland to encourage everyone to report their sightings of both red and grey squirrels, as part of the Scottish Squirrel Survey.
The need for information on the distribution of both species is now particularly urgent as the first evidence of Squirrel Pox virus was identified in a grey squirrel in the south of Scotland last year. Grey squirrels act as a host to the spread of this disease which is fatal to our native red squirrels. There is now a real threat that Scotland's red squirrels could be displaced by the disease-resistant grey squirrel, as has already happened over most of the rest of the UK. In the current survey, people are being urged to contribute to simple, standardised squirrel surveys to collect good quality information on the health and status of Scotland's red squirrel population.
Deputy Environment Minister Rhona Brankin said:
"The red squirrel is under serious threat in Scotland and we need to maximise our knowledge of our populations in order to halt the decline of this native species.
"This can only be done with the help and expertise of local squirrel groups and volunteers and I encourage everyone who takes part in Scottish Natural Heritage's important Scottish Squirrel Survey to collect the most extensive information possible.
"We are committed to protecting the red squirrel. We are working with SNH to bring experts to Scotland next month for a landmark conference on Red Squirrel Conservation to discuss how we can use current knowledge to draw up an action plan to halt the decline of this endangered species."
"This event will also feed into Species Framework being compiled by SNH to provide a long-term strategic approach to protect Scotland's priority species."
Dr Mel Tonkin, the Scottish Squirrel Survey Co-ordinator said:
"The urgency to find out exactly where the most vulnerable populations of red squirrels are to be found, as well as where the safest populations are, cannot be over-stressed. At the same time we need to know the limits of where grey squirrels have spread to because, as carriers of the deadly red squirrel pox virus and as efficient competitors for scarce natural squirrel food supplies, the alien grey squirrel poses the chief threat to red squirrels.
"We hope that by the end of 2010, we will have covered all the crucial places in Scotland and will have started to put in place measures to secure all saveable populations of red squirrels, and to prevent the further spread of grey squirrels. But we need everyone's help - so please, please get involved."
Dr Mairi Cole, species advisory officer at SNH said:
"Scotland is the main stronghold of red squirrels in Britain but they are threatened all the time by the spread of the successful greys. Together with other organisations we have already identified the main areas in Scotland where we think our efforts can help protect red squirrels, but we need more up-to-date information on where both species are living so we can better target our work to save them. Any help you can give on sightings of both species and by completing surveys would be very valuable."
The focus of the survey will be the 127 priority red squirrel woodland areas identified in a report commissioned by Scottish Natural Heritage, the Forestry Commission and Mammals Trust UK and published early last year, plus a further 23 woodlands already identified in south Scotland. Additional surveys will target the outer reaches of the current grey squirrel range in Scotland. The leaflets which are being distributed explain how to get involved via local squirrel groups. A Freepost card is also included to return records to the Survey.
To find out more about Scotland's red squirrels please visit the Scottish Natural Heritage website at www.snh.gov.uk and search for 'red squirrel'
The Forestry Commission website at www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/Redsquirrel
The Scottish Wildlife Trust website at http://www.swt.org.uk/wildlife/red_squirrel.asp
The Red Squirrel Conservation conference will be organised by SNH and held on February 27 at the Pollock Halls, Edinburgh.
For sightings of red squirrels in your area contact:
Ayrshire Red Squirrel Group Tel 01292 261392 www.ayrshireredsquirrels.org.uk
Angus Tel: 0131 312 4733 mtonkin@swt.org.uk
Argyll Tel: 0131 312 4733 mtonkin@swt.org.uk
Borders (Red Squirrels in South Scotland) Tel: 01750 23446 www.red-squirrels.org.uk
Dumfries and Galloway (Red Squirrels in South Scotland) Tel: 01750 725157 www.red-squirrels.org.uk
Dundee Red Squirrel Project www.dundeecity.gov.uk/csrangers/index.html
Grampian Squirrel Group www.grampiansquirrelgroup.co.uk
Highland Red Squirrel Group Tel: 01349 862144 www.highlandredsquirrel.co.uk
Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park Tel: 01567 830430 www.lochlomond-trossachs.org
Perth & Kinross Red Squirrel Group Tel: 07880-90642 www.redpages.org.uk
Background
Scotland supports 121,000 (75%) of the estimated total of 161,000 red squirrels in the UK.
The Grey squirrel was first introduced to Britain in 1876 (in England). In Scotland it was introduced in three places: Argyll (1892), Fife (1919) and Edinburgh (around 1919). It has since spread south into the Borders and north into Perthshire. Grey squirrels are now widespread in central and southern Scotland with isolated pockets in Aberdeen and Deeside. Their spread is likely to continue.
The Red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris is Scotland's only native species of squirrel. The species is listed in Appendix III of the Berne Convention, is protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act and is a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species. The JNCC heads up the UK Strategy for Red Squirrel Conservation, and a new Scottish Strategy for Red Squirrel Conservation was launched in January 2004.
The main cause of decline of the red squirrel is the spread of the grey squirrel Sciurus carolinensis, which is native to North America. In areas of broadleaved and mixed woodland, the grey squirrel has an advantage over the red as it is able to utilise and digest acorns and large seeds more efficiently. This results in reduced breeding success for red squirrels. In time, the grey squirrels out-compete the reds, resulting in a depletion of a local red squirrel population within about 15 years, although it can sometimes take as little as five years, depending on conditions. It also carries a deadly red squirrel pox virus.
The squirrel pox virus was first identified in Scotland in June 2005, where red squirrel conservation officers were quick to detect its presence in newly arrived grey squirrels venturing over the border from northern Cumbria, where disease outbreaks in red squirrels have occurred this year. To date, five grey squirrels have been shown to be carrying specific antibodies to the virus by test done at the Moredun Research Institute at Roslin. The virus causes a pustular dermatitis in red squirrels that has the appearance of myxamatosis in rabbits. All infected red squirrels succumb to the disease within 15 days. Grey squirrel can carry the virus with no detectable symptoms, and therefore live to spread it more widely. More information is available from Elly Hamilton, the Scottish Borders Red Squirrel Conservation Officer at ellyhamilton@redsquirrels.org.uk .
Further information on the survey: "A Framework for Surveying Squirrels in Scotland" available from the Scottish Squirrel Survey and Scottish Natural Heritage.
More information on red squirrel priority woodland areas is available in Poulsom, L, Griffiths, M, Broome, A & Mayle, B (2005) Identification of priority woodlands for red squirrel conservation in North and Central Scotland: a preliminary analysis. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 089 (ROAME No. F02AC443).
Red Squirrels in South Scotland (2004) The Conservation of the Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) in Southern Scotland: Identification of Priority Woodlands and Guidance for their Management.
This release was published on 12/01/2006