A squirrel cull?

Lyttanya Shannon The Politics Show North East and Cumbria

The Politics Show North East and Cumbria meets campaigners calling for a cull of grey squirrels to help protect rare red squirrels.

The North East and Cumbria are among the last strongholds of the red squirrel. So should the Government carry out a nationwide cull to protect it?

Visit Cumbria and Northumberland and there is one sight that many tourists hope to see - the Red Squirrel in its natural habitat.

They have disappeared completely from many parts of the south of England - but are clinging on up here thanks to some determined folk with shotguns who are trying to keep their bigger and tougher grey cousins at bay...

But it is an uphill struggle. And some believe the Government has not done enough to help.

Squirrel pox

The problem in short is this: the North American grey squirrel may be cuddly and cute to look at but it is threatening the survival of the native reds.

Cute and cuddly or a disease carrying menace?

Greys in England carry squirrel pox that reds are not immune to. Greys are also bigger, and better suited to the types of woodland we have in the UK.

Whereas reds thrive on conifers, greys suit common trees like the oak tree.

Political headache

They are what is called an "invasive" non-native species. And they are causing a considerable political headache.

David Maclean, Conservative MP for Penrith and the Border, believes the government hasn¿t taken as hard a line as it could have when it comes to controlling greys and has written to the DEFRA select committee urging an inquiry be carried out.

Others have taken matters into their own hands. Paul Parker works with Lord Redesdale in Northumberland and says they have killed more than 17,000 squirrels in the North East to date.

Some Government money has been spent.

The Red Squirrel Protection Partnership was given £148,000 of DEFRA funding to control the number of greys in the North East. But that has now been spent.

While Save Our Squirrels, the largest single species conservation project in the UK which tries to protect the reds, say they still receive regular reports of sightings of greys in areas where mass culling has taken place.

DEFRA strategy

DEFRA, meanwhile, has put a strategy in place for dealing with new threats from so-called invasive species.

It says: "Britain is one of the leaders in Europe in tackling the threat of Invasive Species.

"Preventing introductions and controlling the spread of invasive non-native species is a key action for conserving our native wildlife, and our strategy has received strong support from wildlife groups."

The strategy will include early identification of potential problem species and will involve developing a framework which will allow rapid responses when invasive species are detected.

But David Maclean MP says this doesn't go far enough: "None of this shows they're taking rapid action against the things that are really endangered now.

"Unless we take rapid action there will not be a single live red squirrel in 10 years time.

"It doesn't show they're giving urgent attention to clamping down on releasing non native species into the wild, and they have no plans to ban people bringing in non native species'

Objections to a cull

But some animal charities believe it's completely unacceptable to kill of one species for the sake of another.

Andrew Tyler from Animal Aid says: "In the past, hundreds of thousands of reds were killed because they were considered a pest.

"Now we've decided it's the greys that are the pest. It's an attempt to purge nature of foreign blood.

"The landscape now doesn't suit reds, and the reason greys are thriving is because they're better suited. Nature should be left to take its course"

One thing is certain - once a non-native species has been introduced into our eco system, it is quite hard to get rid of them. Just ask a red squirrel next time you see one.

The Politics Show will be talking about this issue in a special programme live from Penton in north Cumbria. Among the guests: Penrith MP David Maclean and Copeland MP Jamie Reed.

The Politics Show on Sunday 15 June at 1200 BST on BBC One.

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