Seeing red as hit squad set to kill greys

Richard Collins on a death zone in Scotland for invading grey squirrels.

IN 122AD, the Roman emperor Hadrian built a wall between England and Scotland, the remains of which can still be seen today. The 117km fortification, manned by 24,000 troops, kept the Scots from raiding the towns and farms of their southern neighbours. Now a new defensive line is being established. This time around, it’s a Scottish population which needs protection from English barbarians.

The red squirrel has been in Britain since the end of the last Ice Age. A native species, its position remained secure until the late 19th century. Then grey squirrels were introduced from the United States. Greys don’t attack reds and their lifestyle differs sufficiently from their cousin’s that the two species should be able to coexist. However, once grey squirrels arrive in an area, the red population declines. This ethnic cleansing has been so thorough that the red squirrel is gone from almost all of England and Wales. There are now 3.3 million British greys and only 160,000 reds.