AMERICAN SQUIRRELS IN EUROPE
by Miles Barnes


The Eastern Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is a native of
eastern North America.

It was first introduced to mainland Britain in 1876, to Ireland in
1911 and to Italy in 1948. These are the three European countries now
hosting this destructive alien. Grey squirrels were also introduced to
Australia where they failed and to South Africa where they persist and
cause damage.
The 1876 introduction to Britain took place in Cheshire. Subsequent
introductions and translocations across the British Isles ensured the —
grey siquuj£ej,'s j&uxvjval and spread^ Today despite trapping,
shooting, poisoning and the destruction of dreys, the grey squirrel
occupies almost all of mainland England and Wales and much of lowland
Scotland. There are probably now some five million animals in Britain.
Impact on trees, birds and fruit
Through competition for food and perhaps for nesting sites and through
the transmission of squirrel pox virus, the grey squirrel has
displaced the native red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris L. Kerr) as it has
advanced across Britain and Ireland.
In these countries, the future for the native squirrel is bleak.
The grey squirrel in Britain and Ireland strips the bark from some 40
species of native, exotic, broadleaved and coniferous trees. Healthy
regenerating woodland is particularly vulnerable as trees between 10
and 40 years old are much favoured by the bark strippers. The writer
has seen in the Forest of Dean a dense stand of naturally regenerated
oak where 20 year old saplings have been attacked repeatedly over a
period of years. Some were already dead, others seemed unlikely to
survive and even the best were so maimed that any prospect that one or
two might eventually replace the adja-

cent stand of mature oak seemed unlikely. Three years ago in a Norfolk
wood where grey squirrels are controlled, a naturally regenerated
stand of excellent 15 year old sycamore was suddenly attacked. It was
not possible to find an undamaged stem. Scenes such as these lead one
to doubt that today's tall forest trees will be succeeded by a new
generation of similar stature and quality. The consequences for
tomorrow's timber production and the landscape will disadvantage our
descendants.
Grey squirrels also plunder the nests of woodland birds - as indeed do
red squirrels occasionally. But grey squirrels live at greater
densities than the red and are heavier. As a result, the food required
by grey squirrels is ten times more per hectare than the red. A two
year field study commencing this year seeks to quantify the impact of
grey squirrels on the productivity of woodland birds in lowland
England.
Grey squirrels strip shrubs and trees of their fruit; notably hazel
and walnut which are taken green. Hazel seedlings are now a rarity in
many woods and walnut trees near woodland no longer supply nuts for
the owner's table.
The unfolding tragedy in the British Isles is grave but at least here
grey squirrels are confined by sea and do not directly threaten
continental Europe. Italy is a different matter.
Their history in Italy
Grey squirrels have been released at three sites in northern Italy.
The first was near Stupinigi Park just south of Turin in 1948. After
some 30 years of consolidation, this group started to spread and soon
caught the attention of zoologists at the University of Turin. An
attempt to eradicate part qf this colony in 1997 failed due to a court
order aborting the exercise. As a result of this misconceived action,
the Turin colony continued to expand and in 1999 covered nearly 900
square km. Regrettably, no survey has been undertaken since then but
on the evidence of road kill, it is probable that grey squirrels
recently entered the pre-alpine forest near Pinerolo south west of
Turin. This places the entire alpine environment at risk.
Secondly, grey squirrels were released at Genoa Nervi in 1966. This
colony, bounded by the sea and

the town, remains small and, with local support, could easily be
eliminated.
Finally, in about 1995, grey squirrels were released in Piedmont near
the Ticino river south of Lake Maggiore. It is thought that there are
now some 100 or 200 animals on either side of the river. Local and
national authorities last June agreed to eradicate grey squirrels in
the Ticino Regional Park on the Lombardy side of the river but a start
has not yet been made (February 2007).
There were worrying reports in late 2006 of grey squirrels seen
northeast of Milan in the Colli di Bergamo and near the regional park
of Montevecchia. These sightings have not yet been confirmed.
Recorded damage in Italy
The impact of grey squirrels on trees, and red squirrels is well
documented in Britain and Ireland. Grey squirrels near Turin have
already caused much local damage to commercial poplar plantations.
In one small village, a landowner has been forced to uproot his
damaged- pftp4a^-emi-=r»tur land to lucerne; a tree nursery has
stopped raising large seeded trees from seed because grey squirrels
raid the seedbeds; grey squirrels have stripped the bark from chestnut
trees in a private park; the roof of a loose-tiled farm building has
been damaged; insulation protecting electrical wiring has been
stripped in a roof space creating a high risk of fire and, of course,
the red squirrel has disappeared.
50km south of Turin lies the nut growing district around the town of
Alba, the home of Ferrero Spa. Here hazelnut plantations provide
farmers with their principal source of livelihood. The land is mostly
undulating and cut by steep wooded valleys offering the perfect
habitat for grey squirrels. The plantations are on the higher ground
but intimately connected to the woodland.
It is not known how close the grey squirrel has reached to this
productive area but farmers, already battling to save their crops from
the edible dormouse (Glis glis), are both fearful and angry at the
prospect of a grey squirrel invasion.
The first Italian scientist to recognise the danger of grey squirrels
was the late Professor Currado of Turin University some twenty years
ago.

Since then, a small but dedicated body of scientists from Turin,
Varese and Bologna has studied grey squirrels and has tried to alert
the authorities to the danger; and to the need to eradicate them while
numbers remained low and before they reached the pre-alpine forest.
Only very recently have some regional governments started to listen.
The spread into Europe and beyond
The grey squirrel in northern Italy has implications for the whole of
Europe and eventually for Asia. Grey squirrels in the Po Valley
constitute a test of the European Union's resolve to protect
biodiversity. Of the three Italian colonies, Genoa Nervi and the
Ticino could be eradicated now, using conventional methods. For Turin,
it may be too late for eradication using conventional means, but
stringent control measures ought to be implemented to protect the
environment and rural prosperity.
Failure to eradicate the Italian grey squirrel population before it
crosses the Alps will enable this invasive alien to colonise the great
forests of France and central Europe.
The cost of such an invasion to rural economies would be huge but
ie environmental cost rmghtjae.-greater.
In order to alert European countries to the danger, a British charity
called the European Squirrel Initiative (ESI) commissioned the
Universities of Turin and Newcastle to undertake a study to predict
the rate of spread of grey squirrels from the Po Valley across Italy
and into neighbouring countries. The report was launched in Turin in
May 2006 and copies were sent to conservationists and governments
across Europe.
The report found that in a worst

case scenario, grey squirrels would enter France and Switzerland in
about 30 years and that by the end of the century, grey squirrels
would be advancing strongly through France and Switzerland and in
Italy will have colonised Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy and the northern
Apennines.
Control and eradication
For the past 75 years, attempts to prevent the spread of grey
squirrels in Britain and Ireland have failed. The weapons used have
been shooting, trapping, poisoning with warfarin and destruction of
dreys.
Control... the cost is high
Tree damage occurs when grey squirrel numbers exceed a critical
density of five animals per hectare. Bark stripping occurs in Britain
between May and August. It is during this period that the squirrel
population suddenly increases as the young leave the dreys. Where a
control programme is rigorously applied, limited areas of vulnerable
woodland can be protected provided the squirrel population is kept
well beneath the critical density. The cost is high and the programme
must be conducted over the 20 years during which most young trees
remain vulnerable. Neglect for just one ' season can undo all the good
work of previous years.
Eradication by IMC
For eradication to succeed, both public support and a new weapon are
required.
A recent poll conducted in the UK found that over 60% of the
population would support the eradication of grey squirrels if this did
not involve killing animals.
Fortunately, a non-lethal method with this potential does exist. It is
called immuno-contraception or IMC. This is a technology that uses
antigens to stimulate a desired response in the body's immune system.
It has been used to prevent animals from breeding. There is therefore
a potential to control or eradicate pest mammals without killing them.
Lacking young, the target population would die of old age within a few
years. In the case of the grey squirrel, this would permit the
reintroduction of red squirrels to their former range in Britain and
Ireland and bring to an end the damage to trees and the pressure on
woodland birds.
Scientists in New Zealand, Australia and America are working to
develop IMC as a means of protecting biodiversity and rural prosperity
from alien mammals. In Europe, there are more than 20 alien mammals in
the wild, many of them rodents like the squirrel. If IMC could be used
to liberate Europe from the grey squirrel, it should be possible to
eradicate coypu, muskrat and other destructive rodents.
This greatly enhances the prospects for funding the necessary
research.
If IMC can be used to eradicate grey squirrels in Italy, it would save
Europe from the grey invasion and give hope to beleaguered foresters
and conservetionjjsts fn-Britain~and Ireland.
Let us pray that scientists will soon be given the resources needed to
develop this new weapon.
Note The European Squirrel Initiative was founded in 2002 to protect
trees, woodland birds and red squirrels by campaigning to eradicate
the American grey squirrel in Europe. It is a privately funded UK
charity. For further information see www.europeansquirrelinitiatwe or
email miles@europeansquirrel initiative.co.uk


The Dendrologist can be obtained from: PO Box 341, Chesham, Bucks, HP5
2RD £7.50 for individuals and £10 for business/organisations/
libraries

On Mar 25, 10:00 am, "OM SHIVA!108" wrote:
AMERICAN SQUIRRELS IN EUROPE
by Miles Barnes

The Eastern Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is a native of
eastern North America.

It was first introduced to mainland Britain in 1876, to Ireland in
1911 and to Italy in 1948. These are the three European countries now
hosting this destructive alien. Grey squirrels were also introduced to
Australia where they failed and to South Africa where they persist and
cause damage.
The 1876 introduction to Britain took place in Cheshire. Subsequent
introductions and translocations across the British Isles ensured the --
grey siquuj£ej,'s j&uxvjval and spread^ Today despite trapping,
shooting, poisoning and the destruction of dreys, the grey squirrel
occupies almost all of mainland England and Wales and much of lowland
Scotland. There are probably now some five million animals in Britain.
Impact on trees, birds and fruit
Through competition for food and perhaps for nesting sites and through
the transmission of squirrel pox virus, the grey squirrel has
displaced the native red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris L. Kerr) as it has
advanced across Britain and Ireland.
In these countries, the future for the native squirrel is bleak.
The grey squirrel in Britain and Ireland strips the bark from some 40
species of native, exotic, broadleaved and coniferous trees. Healthy
regenerating woodland is particularly vulnerable as trees between 10
and 40 years old are much favoured by the bark strippers. The writer
has seen in the Forest of Dean a dense stand of naturally regenerated
oak where 20 year old saplings have been attacked repeatedly over a
period of years. Some were already dead, others seemed unlikely to
survive and even the best were so maimed that any prospect that one or
two might eventually replace the adja-

cent stand of mature oak seemed unlikely. Three years ago in a Norfolk
wood where grey squirrels are controlled, a naturally regenerated
stand of excellent 15 year old sycamore was suddenly attacked. It was
not possible to find an undamaged stem. Scenes such as these lead one
to doubt that today's tall forest trees will be succeeded by a new
generation of similar stature and quality. The consequences for
tomorrow's timber production and the landscape will disadvantage our
descendants.
Grey squirrels also plunder the nests of woodland birds - as indeed do
red squirrels occasionally. But grey squirrels live at greater
densities than the red and are heavier. As a result, the food required
by grey squirrels is ten times more per hectare than the red. A two
year field study commencing this year seeks to quantify the impact of
grey squirrels on the productivity of woodland birds in lowland
England.
Grey squirrels strip shrubs and trees of their fruit; notably hazel
and walnut which are taken green. Hazel seedlings are now a rarity in
many woods and walnut trees near woodland no longer supply nuts for
the owner's table.
The unfolding tragedy in the British Isles is grave but at least here
grey squirrels are confined by sea and do not directly threaten
continental Europe. Italy is a different matter.
Their history in Italy
Grey squirrels have been released at three sites in northern Italy.
The first was near Stupinigi Park just south of Turin in 1948. After
some 30 years of consolidation, this group started to spread and soon
caught the attention of zoologists at the University of Turin. An
attempt to eradicate part qf this colony in 1997 failed due to a court
order aborting the exercise. As a result of this misconceived action,
the Turin colony continued to expand and in 1999 covered nearly 900
square km. Regrettably, no survey has been undertaken since then but
on the evidence of road kill, it is probable that grey squirrels
recently entered the pre-alpine forest near Pinerolo south west of
Turin. This places the entire alpine environment at risk.
Secondly, grey squirrels were released at Genoa Nervi in 1966. This
colony, bounded by the sea and

the town, remains small and, with local support, could easily be
eliminated.
Finally, in about 1995, grey squirrels were released in Piedmont near
the Ticino river south of Lake Maggiore. It is thought that there are
now some 100 or 200 animals on either side of the river. Local and
national authorities last June agreed to eradicate grey squirrels in
the Ticino Regional Park on the Lombardy side of the river but a start
has not yet been made (February 2007).
There were worrying reports in late 2006 of grey squirrels seen
northeast of Milan in the Colli di Bergamo and near the regional park
of Montevecchia. These sightings have not yet been confirmed.
Recorded damage in Italy
The impact of grey squirrels on trees, and red squirrels is well
documented in Britain and Ireland. Grey squirrels near Turin have
already caused much local damage to commercial poplar plantations.
In one small village, a landowner has been forced to uproot his
damaged- pftp4a^-emi-=rtur land to lucerne; a tree nursery has
stopped raising large seeded trees from seed because grey squirrels
raid the seedbeds; grey squirrels have stripped the bark from chestnut
trees in a private park; the roof of a loose-tiled farm building has
been damaged; insulation protecting electrical wiring has been
stripped in a roof space creating a high risk of fire and, of course,
the red squirrel has disappeared.
50km south of Turin lies the nut growing district around the town of
Alba, the home of Ferrero Spa. Here hazelnut plantations provide
farmers with their principal source of livelihood. The land is mostly
undulating and cut by steep wooded valleys offering the perfect
habitat for grey squirrels. The plantations are on the higher ground
but intimately connected to the woodland.
It is not known how close the grey squirrel has reached to this
productive area but farmers, already battling to save their crops from
the edible dormouse (Glis glis), are both fearful and angry at the
prospect of a grey squirrel invasion.
The first Italian scientist to recognise the danger of grey squirrels
was the late Professor Currado of Turin University some twenty years
ago.

Since then, a small but dedicated body of scientists from Turin,
Varese and Bologna has studied grey squirrels and has tried to alert
the authorities to the danger; and to the need to eradicate them while
numbers remained low and before they reached the pre-alpine forest.
Only very recently have some regional governments started to listen.
The spread into Europe and beyond
The grey squirrel in northern Italy has implications for the whole of
Europe and eventually for Asia. Grey squirrels in the Po Valley
constitute a test of the European Union's resolve to protect
biodiversity. Of the three Italian colonies, Genoa Nervi and the
Ticino could be eradicated now, using conventional methods. For Turin,
it may be too late for eradication using conventional means, but
stringent control measures ought to be implemented to protect the
environment and rural prosperity.
Failure to eradicate the Italian grey squirrel population before it
crosses the Alps will enable this invasive alien to colonise the great
forests of France and central Europe.
The cost of such an invasion to rural economies would be huge but
ie environmental cost rmghtjae.-greater.
In order to alert European countries to the danger, a British charity
called the European Squirrel Initiative (ESI) commissioned the
Universities of Turin and Newcastle to undertake a study to predict
the rate of spread of grey squirrels from the Po Valley across Italy
and into neighbouring countries. The report was launched in Turin in
May 2006 and copies were sent to conservationists and governments
across Europe.
The report found that in a worst

case scenario, grey squirrels would enter France and Switzerland in
about 30 years and that by the end of the century, grey squirrels
would be advancing strongly through France and Switzerland and in
Italy will have colonised Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy and the northern
Apennines.
Control and eradication
For the past 75 years, attempts to prevent the spread of grey
squirrels in Britain and Ireland have failed. The weapons used have
been shooting, trapping, poisoning with warfarin and destruction of
dreys.
Control... the cost is high
Tree damage occurs when grey squirrel numbers exceed a critical
density of five animals per hectare. Bark stripping occurs in Britain
between May and August. It is during this period that the squirrel
population suddenly increases as the young leave the dreys. Where a
control programme is rigorously applied, limited areas of vulnerable
woodland can be protected provided the squirrel population is kept
well beneath the critical density. The cost is high and the programme
must be conducted over the 20 years during which most young trees
remain vulnerable. Neglect for just one ' season can undo all the good
work of previous years.
Eradication by IMC
For eradication to succeed, both public support and a new weapon are
required.
A recent poll conducted in the UK found that over 60% of the
population would support the eradication of grey squirrels if this did
not involve killing animals.
Fortunately, a non-lethal method with this potential does exist. It is
called immuno-contraception or IMC. This is a technology that uses
antigens to stimulate a desired response in the body's immune system.
It has been used to prevent animals from breeding. There is therefore
a potential to control or eradicate pest mammals without killing them.
Lacking young, the target population would die of old age within a few
years. In the case of the grey squirrel, this would permit the
reintroduction of red squirrels to their former range in Britain and
Ireland and bring to an end the damage to trees and the pressure on
woodland birds.
Scientists in New Zealand, Australia and America are working to
develop IMC as a means of protecting biodiversity and rural prosperity
from alien mammals. In Europe, there are more than 20 alien mammals in
the wild, many of them rodents like the squirrel. If IMC could be used
to liberate Europe from the grey squirrel, it should be possible to
eradicate coypu, muskrat and other destructive rodents.
This greatly enhances the prospects for funding the necessary
research.
If IMC can be used to eradicate grey squirrels in Italy, it would save
Europe from the grey invasion and give hope to beleaguered foresters
and conservetionjjsts fn-Britain~and Ireland.
Let us pray that scientists will soon be given the resources needed to
develop this new weapon.
Note The European Squirrel Initiative was founded in 2002 to protect
trees, woodland birds and red squirrels by campaigning to eradicate
the American grey squirrel in Europe. It is a privately funded UK
charity. For further information seewww.europeansquirrelinitiatweor
email miles@europeansquirrel initiative.co.uk

The Dendrologist can be obtained from: PO Box 341, Chesham, Bucks, HP5
2RD £7.50 for individuals and £10 for business/organisations/
libraries

..so you can emerge from your childhood ficticious bambi werr-ruld now
please, animal rights loonys.

Just exterminate the wee *******s and quit your whinging.