The most serious and urgent threat to our red squirrel population is interaction with the invasive, non-native grey squirrel, which has spread across the UK and caused the devastation of the UK red squirrel population.
Grey squirrels:
- Carry disease in the form of the squirrel pox virus (SQPV), which as far as we are aware is always fatal when passed to red squirrels
- Compete for food and habitat with red squirrels, eventually displacing them
Effects of Squirrel Pox Virus
