Quality | 2009.06.04
Landowners turn guns on grey squirrels
Grey squirrels a threat to native ecology and commercial viability of timber, says the Country Land and Business Association
James Meikle
They have long upset suburban bird fans – chasing hungry garden favourites away from feeders – and have pushed native red squirrels to the remotest parts of the country.
But now grey squirrels have raised the hackles of a potentially deadly enemy. Country landowners, many used to raising game birds for sport, are turning their guns on the cheeky invaders – in the name of protecting native ecology and improving the commercial viability of their woodlands.
The rampant greys, which have driven out most of the smaller, more timid native reds in much of the country , are also destroying broadleaved woods by damaging bark at the base and in the crown of maturing trees.
According to the 36,000-member Country Land and Business Association (CLA), that makes it much harder to grow good quality timber.
Deer too, though "an integral and valued part" of the British countryside, also roam in such high numbers that regeneration of woodland could be ensured only by the erection of six-foot-high metal fences. Both mammals were so prevalent that woodland- and ground-nesting birds and dormice were under threat from loss of habitat.
The organisation\'s president, Henry Aubrey-Fletcher, admitted that it would not be realistic to "have an Armageddon with guys out there blowing them [squirrels] out of the trees" but numbers had to be reduced since "out-of-control deer and grey squirrel populations have wreaked havoc".
The association\'s woodlands and forestry adviser, Mike Seville, criticised the government\'s emphasis on protecting areas around the remaining red squirrel havens such as northern England and the Isle of Wight. More aggressive action to exterminate greys had worked in areas such as Anglesey in Wales and in Northumberland, he said.
In Scotland, where the CLA does not operate, the Scottish executive has sanctioned killing zones in an effort to help red squirrels retain their Highlands redoubts. In the UK as a whole, there are thought to be only about 160,000 reds left , with perhaps 3.3m greys, which were introduced from the US in the late 19th century.
There are thought to be nearly 1m deer in England and Wales. About 185,000 are thought to be culled each year, with another 50,000 killed in road traffic accidents. But the Deer Initiative , of which the CLA is a member, believes a third of the animals – several hundred thousand – should be culled to keep populations in check.The CLA, which wants more government support in managing woodlands and forests, said they could make a huge contribution to the landscape, biodiversity and water and carbon management. At present, public money was spent mainly on planting schemes, rather than thinning woods or ensuring commercially viable markets through biomass energy plants or house-building. It said wood sold for shelving or fence posts which fetched about £35 a tonne for landowners 20 years ago now made less than £20. The CLA also complains that the grant budget for private woodlands and forestry in England this year is £20m, whereas EU-backed agricultural subsidies, including environmental schemes, are about £1.8bn.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/03/wildlife-grey-squirrel
