£300,000 for grey squirrel control after Formby pox outbreak

The grant of £299,986, announced by the trust on 10 August, follows the squirrel pox outbreak confirmed at Formby on 20 July. The Sefton Coast colony is the most southerly red squirrel stronghold in mainland England, and grey squirrels carry the pox virus that kills native reds.

What will the funding pay for?

The money will increase grey squirrel management across the region, including the recruitment of an additional red squirrel ranger, and fund a community tree-planting scheme to strengthen habitat. It will also pay for a grey squirrel eradication feasibility study, examining grey movement, incursion rates and the level of effort required to achieve effective long-term management.

For the pest controllers, keepers and landowners who carry out grey control on the ground, that study is the significant piece: it will set out what holding, and ultimately clearing, an area of greys actually takes.

Why does the outbreak matter so much?

Heather Harris, communications officer for the trust’s Red Squirrel Recovery Network, said: “Following the recent squirrel pox outbreak in Merseyside, we are reminded just how vulnerable our red squirrel populations remain and how quickly decades of conservation efforts can be put at risk. Natural England’s funding will strengthen our ability to respond rapidly to such threats and work to create more resilient habitats.”

Tony Juniper, chair of Natural England, said: “We know that good science and effective partnerships can help restore species to favourable status, and this funding will enable us to support many initiatives to help halt and reverse the decline of our wonderful wildlife.”

What happens next?

The trust will recruit the new ranger and begin the feasibility study, with the wider Red Squirrel Recovery Network, backed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, continuing its work across the North West. Rapid response to the Formby outbreak continues in the meantime, with the trust’s project team monitoring the woods and stepping up control where greys press in on the reds’ ground. The full announcement can be read on the Lancashire Wildlife Trust website, linked below.