A new campaign is calling for urgent national action to save England’s remaining Red squirrel populations after a government-backed report warned the species could disappear from mainland England within a generation.
The warning comes as the Save Our Reds campaign launched a new interactive map showing the dramatic decline of red squirrels across Britain over recent decades.
The map, available online, highlights how the species has retreated to a small number of isolated strongholds after once being widespread across the country.
Historically, red squirrels were widespread across the Yorkshire Dales, but numbers have declined sharply.
Today, the strongest remaining populations in and around the Dales are generally found in areas close to the Cumbria border and parts of upper Wensleydale near Hawes, including the Widdale Red Squirrel Reserve at Snaizholme.
The campaign follows publication of the Natural England Red Squirrel Recovery Strategy on April 14, which concluded that under a “do nothing” scenario, red squirrels could become extinct in mainland England within 25 years.
Save Our Reds, which has gained support from more than 75,000 people, was founded by North Pennines journalist and campaigner Marie Carter-Robb.
She said: “The map is shocking. It makes the reality impossible to ignore. This is not theoretical. Without action, we will lose our red squirrels.
“We don’t have a single-solution problem. We have a series of urgent actions that need to be brought together into one joined-up national plan.”
There are now believed to be between 140,000 and 160,000 red squirrels left across the UK, including as few as 15,000 in England, compared with an estimated 2.7 million grey squirrels.
Grey squirrels are blamed for much of the decline because they compete with reds for food and habitat and carry squirrelpox, a virus which is usually harmless to greys but often fatal to red squirrels.
The campaign is calling for increased funding for ranger services, humane grey squirrel control in red squirrel areas, investment in squirrelpox vaccine research and stronger protection for habitats.
Wildlife filmmaker Terry Abraham, whose BBC documentary Cumbria’s Red Squirrels helped raise awareness of the issue, said native red squirrels should be “ambassadors of nature conservation within the UK”.
County Durham conservationist Sue Fowler added: “Volunteers are doing everything we can – but we need proper policy and protections in place before it’s too late.”
The campaign will also launch the UK’s first “Save Our Reds Day” on Friday, May 15, to coincide with Endangered Species Day.
The campaign’s main petition can be signed at: change.org/save-our-reds
