Red squirrels 'close to extinction' in England

Red squirrels 'close to extinction' in England5 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleNaj ModakNorth East and CumbriaSave Our RedsA petition calling for urgent action has attracted more than 75,000 signaturesEngland's red squirrels are close to extinction and the government needs to do more to protect them, an animal welfare group said. A petition set up by Save Our Reds, has attracted more than 75,000 signatures, urging more action.Founder of the campaign Marie Carter-Robb, said: "We have a series of urgent actions that need to be brought together into one joined-up national plan."A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), said the government was protecting endangered red squirrels by tackling the threat of non-native grey squirrels.Combining data from a number of wildlife organisations, the group said the endangered species, which "still clings on" across Cumbria, Northumberland and the North Pennines, could disappear within 25 years. It also said only 120,000 to 160,000 remained, with as few as 15,000 in England.According to Natural England causes for the decline include the introduction of grey squirrels from the USA and Canada from 1876 spreading the squirrelpox virus, which is fatal to the red squirrels only.The group said habitat loss and weak enforcement of existing protections were adding to the problem.Carter-Robb, said: "The map is shocking. It makes the reality impossible to ignore. "This is not theoretical, without action we will lose our red squirrels."She said the "urgent actions that need to be brought together" were "fragmented" and "we are simply managing decline".The campaign called for a national plan to humanely manage grey squirrel populations and urgent investment in squirrelpox vaccine development.It also wants support for fertility control research and deployment, and protection and enforcement of red squirrel habitat...