Star Metro - King Charles visits grey squirrel contraceptive project

Grey squirrels, introduced from the United States in the 19th century, are considered an invasive species. They are now far more common than native red squirrels, which are endangered in Britain.

The larger grey animals outcompete the reds for food and living space and also carry a virus to which they are immune but that is deadly to reds.

The king met scientists and researchers from The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in Yorkshire in northern England, who are working on a new oral contraceptive project aimed at slowing grey squirrels' population growth.

The king "has long supported efforts to restore the red squirrel population," the royal family said on X.

Charles told Country Life magazine in 2018 that he allowed red squirrels to run around his house on the Balmoral estate in Scotland.

The monarch is patron of The Red Squirrel Survival Trust and The Times reported in April that he had given the national charity a "very generous" donation.

"You've been championing our red squirrels for decades now, which is why we've been so keen to show you the work we've been doing here," Julie Lane, head of the National Wildlife Management Centre at APHA, told Charles.

"Without you, this work would not be happening at all."

Plans for the squirrel contraception project were first announced in 2022 and the first tests of contraceptives have just begun.

The project involves hiding contraceptives in tasty bait in special feeders in woodland, designed so only grey squirrels can access them.

According to government estimates, the grey squirrel population has grown to around 2.7 million in Great Britain while there are only between 120,000 and 160,0000 red squirrels, most of them in Scotland.

F.Leblanc--SMC