Red Squirrels (Hansard, 19 October 2004)

§ Lord Whitty

The red squirrel is currently protected in the UK by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (and the Wildlife & Countryside (Northern Ireland) Order 1985), amended, most recently, by the Countryside & Rights of Way Act 2000 (CRoW) for England and Wales and the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004. It is included in both Schedules 5 and 6, making it an offence to kill or injure a red squirrel or disturb its place of rest. In addition to this, the red squirrel was identified as a priority species for80WA conservation action by the UK Biodiversity Action Plan process. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee is a member of the UK Red Squirrel Group (UKRSG), the UK Steering Group for the red squirrel BAP. The UKRSG provides information and advice on red squirrel conservation issues, and provides a lead on recommended actions and targets set out in the red squirrel species action plan.

The UKRSG has largely focused conservation action for the red squirrel in key woodland sites where they are still present. A prioritisation exercise has identified those sites with suitable red squirrel habitat that can be managed to ensure their continued survival and reduce the influence of factors that may be causing their decline, such as habitat loss and loss of habitat condition, grey squirrel incursion and disease.

With regards to the re-establishment of the red squirrel in the UK, there are several issues to be addressed, including the amelioration of the reasons for their decline at different sites. JNCC, and the UKRSG as set out in their guidance on the release of red squirrels, do not recommend the re-introduction of red squirrels without careful consideration of the site to ensure that it is of suitable habitat to support a red squirrel population and that it can be protected from the above factors.