Written question asked by Earl Peel (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Bach (Labour) on Tuesday, 13 December 2005.

Grey Squirrels

Question: Whether any research is currently being undertaken into the control of invasive alien species, and in particular grey squirrels, through the process of immuno-contraception; and, if so, how much funding is currently committed to the project.

Answer: Defra funding on immuno-contraceptive vaccines for squirrels is part of a much wider fertility control project, which includes planned work on wild boar and a non-immuno-contraceptive fertility control agent for rose-ringed parakeets. The total project cost is £1,012k, with about £830k of that being for immuno-contraceptive work. The project runs from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2008.For the squirrel component, scientists from the Central Science Laboratory and the Forestry Commission will be carrying out research work which is due to start in January 2006. The main squirrel research will cost about £50k. However, there is other work in the wider project, for example, the development of techniques for administering immuno-contraceptive vaccines orally, which will also be relevant. This work is needed as injection is unlikely to be a practical proposition for most species. If everything goes well with the whole project, we will still be looking at several years before practical and usable fertility control methods are available in the UK.

Secondary information