Paul Humphreys rambles on....

Paul Humphreys rambles on....
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Tuesday February 10, 2009

The red and the grey...

There are only 150,000 red squirrels left in the UK and these are only to be found in Scotland. The grey coloured one introduced years ago is gradually pushing their red cousin further north. In a battle for territory the grey wins and they also carry a pox bug that they are immune to but the red is not. So in an effort to stem the grey tide there are plans to cull some grey squirrels. The idea is not to wipe them out but to give the red ones a bit of a breathing space. It is controversial as it is killing healthy animals, but it seems the only way to preserve the reds for the future.

( Feb 10 2009, 12:00:01 AM PST ) Permalink Comments [2]