Anglesey Red Squirrel Conservation

Thank you to all those who pledged £10 to the Friends of the Anglesey Red Squirrels

We are pleased to have been associated with the Anglesey Red Squirrel Project for several years, and continue to be involved with supporting the important work of red squirrel conservation on Anglesey through our involvement with the Friends of the Anglesey Red Squirrels.
Red squirrels are now almost extinct on the mainland of Wales and England, with only a few isolated populations remaining. Those on islands, such as the Isle of Wight and Brownsea Island, are relatively safe, whereas those on the mainland are threatened with imminent extinction. Red squirrels continue to hang on in areas of Cumbria and Northumberland, as well as two or three areas of Wales, including Anglesey. There are also red squirrels at Formby in Lancashire and a small group near Liverpool. In Scotland, red squirrels continue to disappear wherever the grey squirrel encroaches onto their territory.
Red squirrels have been in the UK since the end of the last Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago, with the grey squirrels being introduced from America during the 1890s and early 1900s. Grey squirrels out-compete the red squirrels for food and other resources, and suppress the red squirrels' breeding rate to the point of cessation. Grey squirrels also carry Parapoxvirus, which is lethal to red squirrels but not to grey squirrels. Simply put, red squirrels cannot generally survive in the presence of grey squirrels, so the only proven way to protect remaining red squirrel populations is to remove the grey squirrels. Unfortunately, this can only be done where there is some form of geographical isolation of the red squirrel population, e.g. islands or other isolated woodland habitats.
Red squirrels require a mixed woodland, with a continuous canopy, of a sufficient size to maintain a viable population. They can survive for some time in dense forestry plantations where grey squirrels find it harder to survive, but even here the resilience of the grey squirrels often leads to the extinction of the red squirrels eventually.
Many conservation efforts so far have relied on half-hearted monitoring and habitat management, but invariably these attempts fail due to the continued presence of grey squirrels. There are now a few projects around the UK which are relying on grey squirrel removal to arrest the decline of our native red squirrel. Nowhere has this been more successful than on Anglesey off the North Wales coast, where thousands of grey squirrels have been removed, and red squirrels saved from certain extinction at a level of only 20 - 30 individuals during 1999/2000.
Even here there were so-called 'conservation efforts' which relied on 'monitoring' the interaction between red squirrels and grey squirrels, which invariably leads to the extinction of the red squirrels. Without the intervention of the Anglesey Red Squirrel Project, a local initiative run by Menter Môn (Anglesey Enterprise), red squirrels would now be extinct on Anglesey. The Friends of the Anglesey Red Squirrels was set up to lend support to the conservation efforts of the Anglesey Red Squirrel Project, and to raise the profile of the red squirrels of Anglesey through education and media interest.
There are now over 100 red squirrels in the original remnant population at Mynydd Llwydiarth, Pentraeth, and red squirrels are breeding again within broadleaved woodland, from which they had been excluded by the grey squirrels. A buffer zone is being maintained around this isolated population, the only one known to have been brought back from the brink of extinction in the whole of the UK, and monitoring of other woodlands continues to keep the grey squirrels in check. Many woodlands are now grey squirrel free, including Newborough Forest where a red squirrel reintroduction is taking place. It is hoped that in a few years it will be possible for visitors to Anglesey to see wild red squirrels within Newborough Forest on a regular basis, provided that the forest is managed in a red squirrel friendly manner.
There were some concerns that the proposals recently put forward by the Countryside Council for Wales would seriously damage the viability of this red squirrel reintroduction, which is being undertaken by Menter Môn and the Welsh Mountain Zoo. The Friends of the Anglesey Red Squirrels propose that Newborough Forest be managed as a Red Squirrel Reserve.
The Friends of the Anglesey Red Squirrels have a web page on the Newborough Forest issue ~ click here ~ as do Forestry Commission Wales.
There was a public meeting on the issue of Newborough Forest, on the 20th September in Llangefni, hosted by CCW and Forestry Commission Wales. It was made clear at this meeting that the original proposals have now been put to one side and a full consultation is now underway, which will include the formation of a liaison group of interested parties, including the Anglesey Red Squirrel Project and the Friends of the Anglesey Red Squirrels. Assurances have also been given that there will be no clear-felling operations within the Newborough Forest for at least one year, and it is likely that the full consultation will take until 2006. This is a clear victory for the people of Anglesey, which demonstrates that the Countryside Council for Wales and Forestry Commission Wales are ultimately answerable to the people of Wales.
Another current concern is the plan by Forestry Commission Wales to sell off some of its woodlands which are of low public benefit and low environmental value. Within this list of woodlands, they have included the Mynydd Llwydiarth forest at Pentraeth, which is, of course, home to one of the last populations of red squirrels in Wales. The fact that this forest has been included with those considered of low environmental value is of much concern, and we are waiting for a response from Forestry Commission Wales on this question - view their reply here.
You can view some of the items from the BBC News web site by clicking here.
Various events have been organised by the Friends of the Anglesey Red Squirrels, including a conference at Oriel Môn, Llangefni, which was introduced by Iolo Williams, the BBC's 'Birdman'.
The Red Squirrel Conference held recently in Canolfan Biwmares (Beaumaris Centre) was introduced by the BBC's Howie Watkins, and had presentations from the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), Menter Môn, The Friends of the Anglesey Red Squirrels, Welsh Mountain Zoo, Forestry Commission Wales, Mid Wales Squirrel Group, European Squirrel Initiative, Wildlife DNA Services, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bangor, and Dr Craig Shuttleworth of the Anglesey Red Squirrel Project.
Other events to celebrate National Red Squirrel Week included a Plant Exchange, Bring and Buy Tea Party at Cadnant Gate, Glyn Garth, Menai Bridge, on Wednesday 15th September 2004. Activities included: "Learn How to Plant a Red Squirrel Garden" with Martin Bailey, Ecologist at Wildlife & Countryside Services; Squirrel Attractions and Information, Games and a Treasure Hunt.
Dr Craig Shuttleworth gave an evening lecture entitled 'Back from the Brink - Anglesey Red Squirrels' to the Conwy Valley Branch of the North Wales Wildlife Trust on Friday 12th November 2004 at St Davids Hall, Penrhyn Bay. Further details of events can be obtained from the North Wales Wildlife Trust on 01248 351541.
Red Squirrels Return to Newborough Forest ~ a slide show with Dr Craig Shuttleworth, Friends of the Anglesey Red Squirrels, was held on Friday March 18^th 2005 in Llangaffo village hall.
An Education Seminar was held at Tre-Ysgawen Hall, Capel Coch, on Thursday September 15^th 2005, to launch the Friends of the Anglesey Red Squirrels' Education Pack for Key Stages 1 & 2. The Education Pack will be given to all the primary schools on Anglesey.
An illustrated talk was given by the Forestry Commission in Llangaffo village hall on Friday 7^th October 2005, about the damage caused by grey squirrels to trees in the Forest of Dean.
The Friends of the Anglesey Red Squirrels hosted the Wales Red Squirrel Forum on Friday 28^th October 2005, at Tre-Ysgawen Hall, Capel Coch.
Schools on Anglesey are visited by Bethan Jones, Education Officer with the Friends of the Anglesey Red Squirrels. The Friends attended several events during 2005, including Plas Newydd Summer Fair, the Woodfest at St Asaph, and shows at Bodelwyddan and Mona.
Talks have been given to various groups by Dr Craig Shuttleworth, and by Martin Bailey of Wildlife & Countryside Services. Martin is also supplying supplementary food for the red squirrels of Mynydd Llwydiarth, Pentraeth.
The Newborough Forest Liaison Partnership meetings are also attended regularly by Dr Craig Shuttleworth, Hugh Knott from Menter Môn, and Martin Bailey, to ensure that Anglesey's red squirrels receive full consideration during the consultation process.

Wildlife & Countryside Services shared their stand at Woodfest Wales in Llandudno in June 2006 with the Friends of the Anglesey Red Squirrels. Many people came over to talk to us about the plight of the UK's red squirrels, and the need to do something soon before even more red squirrels are lost forever. We were pleased to be able to tell them that there are now more than 20 red squirrels living free in Newborough Forest, the site of the only reintroduction of red squirrels in the UK, and that grey squirrel numbers are very low. We should not become complacent, however, as those greys that still survive on Anglesey will now be producing young, and continual trapping will be required through the summer to ensure that they do not become established on the island again.

We hosted a joint Wildlife & Countryside Services and Friends of the Anglesey Red Squirrels stall at the Newborough Festival, Newborough Forest, Anglesey, in September 2006, and again at Woodfest Wales in St Asaph and Llandudno in 2007.

With news of a proposed grey squirrel cull across the UK, there would seem to be some hope for our endangered red squirrels, but a grey squirrel cull across the whole of the UK is, unfortunately, unlikely. The proposed grey squirrel cull will only be in selected areas where red squirrels still survive, and probably not all of them will benefit from this cull of the introduced grey squirrel, due to limited resources. Therefore, even with a grey squirrel cull, we are still likely to lose some of our red squirrel populations, pushing the red squirrel nearer to extinction in the few areas where it still hangs on. Hopefully, one day, there will be the political will to go for an all-out attempt at a grey squirrel cull across the whole of the UK, possibly using some sort of contraceptive, which could then pave the way for red squirrels to be reintroduced to areas where they have been extinct for decades. Not only will a grey squirrel cull benefit red squirrels, but it would also drastically reduce predation on small birds' nests and eggs, prevent much damage to trees, and increase the food available to other endangered species like the dormouse, whose food the grey squirrels take. Grey squirrels do a lot of damage to our wildlife, so a grey squirrel cull is always a good idea if we want to keep our (already severely diminished) biodiversity.