Under threat: the red squirrel

GOVERNMENT scientists are working on a contraceptive pill for grey squirrels, it was revealed today. The aim is to control the spread of the invading American greys before they wipe the few remaining pockets of the native red squirrel, some of which survive in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The research has been ordered by the environment department Defra because it is feared the reds could go extinct within two decades unless the northward march of the greys, now estimated to number five million.

Grey squirrels not only compete with the smaller native animals for food and territory but also do considerable damage, stripping trees of bark so that they die and also raiding the nests of song birds for eggs and even chicks.

The Defra scientists are working with colleagues in America, who have already produced contraceptive pills for wild deer and horses.

But the squirrel presents a unique problem. Because it hoards food like nuts, any bait injected with contraceptive material might be found and eaten by other species which might themselves be under threat.

So to develop a bait which uniquely attracts grey squirrels could take years, meaning that the pill is unlikely to be available for five or even ten years. Until then, red populations in Wensleydale and the Lake District remain under threat.