Written question asked by Lord Hart of Tenby (Conservative) on Monday, 17 October 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 19 October 2011. It was answered by Lord Benyon (Conservative) on Wednesday, 26 October 2011 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Squirrels: Pest Control

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the cost of damage caused by grey squirrels nationwide.

Answer: The report ““The Economic Cost of Invasive Non-native Species on Great Britain””, produced by the Centre for Agricultural Bioscience International in 2010, was jointly commissioned by DEFRA, the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government. It provides a comprehensive estimate of the costs of invasive non-native species to the economy of Great Britain and includes several species-specific case studies. The report estimated that the cost to the British economy of the grey squirrel was at least £14 million per annum.

Secondary information