Grey squirrel spotters needed in Northumberland

Posted by The Journal on Aug 6, 09 09:08 AM in News

Grey squirrel- Peter Byrne/PA Wire Squirrel spotters are needed to help a project to protect native red squirrels. The Red Squirrel Protection Partnership (RSPP) is doing a week-long audit of grey squirrels in Northumberland.

And it wants people all over the county to help out by reporting their sightings.

Next week, from August 10 to 16, RSPP staff will be manning a dedicated hotline, so anyone who sees a grey squirrel can report it.

The aim is to allow the RSPP to build up a picture of how many greys are still living in Northumberland.

Since January 2007, when the partnership was formed by Lord Rupert Redesdale, 23,320 grey squirrels have been shot as part of a controversial cull.

Trapper Paul Parker has traveled the North East, responding to phone calls from the public, to find and "dispatch" greys as part of an effort to save their red relatives.

Grey squirrels are not native to the UK, but were introduced from America.

They carry the squirrel pox virus which kills red squirrels. They are also known to eat baby squirrels and birds.

The RSPP's survey will allow experts to map places where greys still live and, they hope, show how successful the cull has been at wiping out the species.

Paul will also attempt to trap and kill any greys which are reported.

Lord Redesdale said: "One problem we have had is that even when we have cleared an area many people still claim there are greys even though none have been spotted. This survey could give us a snapshot of where there actually are grey squirrels still left.

"When we get a reported sighting we would like people to give us as much information as possible and we will trap and kill the grey.

"We're pretty certain that if we hadn't done the cull, red squirrels would be extinct in Northumberland by now.

"The greys were absolutely everywhere. If we hadn't killed that 23,000 they would have bred and by now we'd have 100,000 of them and it would have been bye bye to the reds because of the squirrel pox.

"We're not asking people to report reds, we're just interested in wiping out the greys."

Lord Redesdale also stressed that the Red Squirrel Protection Partnership is not linked to Save our Squirrels, a conservation funded organisation which does not trap or kill grey squirrels.

In June, Paul Parker trapped what he claimed was the first black squirrel captured in the North East. It was found near Rowlands Gill in Gateshead.

Then in July a grey was captured just a mile-and-a-half from Kielder Forest, which has long been a stronghold for red squirrels.

The Northumberland National Park is home to about 50% of England's reds.

To report your sighting call Paul Parker on 07890 600 243.

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