Battle against Squirrel Pox continues.

Scotland is home to 75% of the surviving UK population of red squirrels and their continued survival is threatened by the arrival from England of pox-carrying grey squirrels. Despite our best efforts and those of the two SNH funded grey squirrel control officers, the Squirrelpox virus has now arrived in Scotland.

The main incursion routes from Cumbria into the southwest of the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway have long been established and are the centre of south Scotland’s control efforts. Similar coordinated control south of the border in Cumbria will hopefully result in far fewer incursions and assist in the creation of a buffer zone. A very generous and timely private sector donation to the northern England Save Our Squirrels project will fund the necessary Cumbrian control efforts.

Coordinated control work in Northumberland is also required in order to identify incursion routes into the southeast of the Scottish Borders and to create buffer zones around the key reserves in Northumberland. The Red Squirrel Protection Partnership (RSPP) was set up with DEFRA funding and it is hoped that by effectively targeting their control efforts and coordinating with the Northumberland Wildlife Trust their work will soon be of benefit to red squirrel conservation both north and south of the border.

The spread of grey squirrels and the virus they carry represents the greatest single threat to red squirrels in Scotland and is the pivot on which balances the future of red squirrels in the UK as a whole. Raising public and private sector awareness of the need for ongoing and intensive grey squirrel control is fundamental in preventing further spread of the Squirrelpox virus.

There are many ways in which you can help. If you see a sick or dead red squirrel please report it immediately by calling 01750 23446 (Borders) or 01387 711804 (D&G). If a red squirrel is suffering from Squirrelpox it is vital that it is removed from the population so that it cannot infect other red squirrels. As ever we are keen to hear of any squirrel sightings in the Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway and we would like to remind you that traps; training and blood sampling kits are available from us at no charge for anyone wishing to help conserve red squirrels.

Controlling grey squirrels must not be considered as solely the responsibility of a government agency or conservation organisation but as an issue faced by us all. Many grey squirrels are found on privately owned land and in our gardens.

The red squirrel has been in Scotland since the last Ice Age, the grey squirrel was introduced by us only 130 years ago. In that time the grey has forced the red squirrel to the brink of extinction in the UK. The only chance red squirrels have of remaining is if we attempt to undo the damage we have caused.

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is planning to put in place a pan-Scotland squirrel monitoring project in 2008, further news on this will follow.

For more information on red squirrels and red squirrel conservation visit www.red-squirrels.org.uk .

Please help keep the red squirrel in Scotland.