Written question asked by Earl Peel (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Bach (Labour) on Wednesday, 1 February 2006.

Squirrels

Question: In which places in the United Kingdom the Forestry Commission is carrying out controls of grey squirrels; and how successful they have been.

Answer: The Forestry Commission undertakes control of grey squirrels on the public forest estate in England according to circumstances, through a risk-based approach. This approach has the aim of conservation of red squirrel populations and other features of high biodiversity and cultural value, and the prevention of damage to property and high-value timber crops. In the past year, areas of control have included the Forest of Dean, Westonbirt Arboretum and the north England red squirrel reserve buffer zones.Control is undertaken using best practice but this does not always lead to a successful outcome because of the influence of such factors as habitat type, weather and initial population levels that can vary from year to year.

Secondary information