---

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Answer

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the change in the red squirrel population over the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [153746] Mr. Bradshaw: No assessment has been made in the changes to red squirrel population over the last five years. However, within England, significant populations of the red squirrel are still found in the north-west and north-east, the Isle of Wight and the islands in Poole Harbour. The population in Thetford Forest remains in a precarious position, with no recent sightings there. Little can be said about changes in numbers at any of these sites as the species is very difficult and costly to monitor at this level of detail. We hope that the recently- formed Tracking Mammals Partnership will make some progress with developing integrated monitoring methods for this challenging species. On the positive side, the red squirrel seems to have made some small gains in the Yorkshire Dales, where it has been able to expand into plantations that are now maturing and producing good crops of the pine cones that it needs. On the negative side, the grey squirrel continues to expand its range and threaten red squirrel populations, with the species now appearing in the west of Northumberland, where it is moving up the Tyne valley, and more northern parts of Cumbria, where it has moved north of Thirlmere and is now appearing around Keswick. The continuing expansion of the grey squirrel is to be expected and red squirrel conservation is focused on limiting that expansion in areas where the two species overlap. Some significant progress has been made in developing more effective and targeted ways of defending healthy populations of red squirrels against replacement by the grey squirrel. The UK red squirrel Biodiversity Action Plan Steering Group has identified those areas of the UK where action to maintain red squirrels is most likely to be effective in the long term. In northern England, these priorities have now been translated into management plans for key forest areas, where we believe a combination of large-scale habitat management in forests and buffer areas allied to surveillance and targeted grey squirrel control gives the red squirrel the best chance of survival. These plans will form the basis of a bid for Heritage Lottery funding within the next few months by a consortium of government agencies, wildlife trusts and private landowners. Elsewhere in England, a red squirrel strategy for the Isle of Wight has recently been published. Work on improving the island's woodlands and hedgerows for the red squirrel has been continuing, funded by the Forestry Commission and the HLF, and a recent survey found signs of red squirrels in 86 per cent. of the woodlands, an improvement over the 71 per cent. found in 1996-97. The populations on the islands in Poole Harbour (Brownsea, Furzey) are also important and a joint management plan to ensure their survival here will soon be developed.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

153746; 423 c1143-4W

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Conservation Location Population Squirrels

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk