FAQ: What are the project’s control methods?
Our management methods are designed with public safety uppermost in our consideration, followed by minimising any animal distress. We will use live-trapping according to best practice guidelines, and then dispatch the animal in the most humane way possible. The methods we have adopted have been deemed the most humane by the European Scientific Panel on Animal health and Welfare (2005)
Within the project, animals can only be handled by people who have received approved training. We use live-trapping, where squirrels are attracted to a trap with food. A live trap generally consists of a wire mesh cage with sprung, drop or lift door. Traps are covered to provide shelter from the weather and potential predators, and food is provided. Traps are checked twice a day to minimise the time held in captivity (Animal Welfare Act 2006). Dispatch is undertaken either with one shot to the base of the skull using an air-gun or a single blow to the back of the head by a trained individual. Both methods deliver instant results. In both cases Project-approved training will be necessary.
Successful trapping can remove at least 90% of the resident grey squirrels in a wood at a time and we aim to trap until all grey squirrels have been removed from a site. Trapping is most successful from March to August.
At this time halting further spread of grey squirrels at strategically targeted points is the only viable option to protect existing strong red squirrel populations across north and northwest Scotland. The arrival of grey squirrels in an area occupied by reds squirrels results in reduced survival rates amongst red squirrel young and reduced reproductive rates, causing the gradual decline in red squirrel populations over time.
