Now, we all know that squirrels are priceless. So in one way, it’s briulliant news that the Scottish authorities have decided to put up a £100,000 wildlife bridge (about $200,000) as part of a planned new bypass. (See http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2008/05/26/new-100k-road-bridge-will-help-save-scotland-s-red-squirrels-86908-20429763/ for the full story)
On the ohter hand though, might such an expensive solution actually cause more criticism than it refutes, given that squirrels will happily scamper over nearly anything, and might not need a 100K construction to help them do so?
We’re in two minds about this-how about you?
I know that the subject of “red squirrels versus grey” is an emotive one in the UK. We love red squirrels too (on the rare occasions when we’ve been able to see them).
But the fact remains that grey squirrels are not primarily responsible for the decline in red squirrels, and as JustSquirrels loves squirrels whatever their species, it is horrific that grey squirrels (who are in the UK as a result of human actions anyway) are now subject to a “cull” in some parts of the UK.
There is an article which explains the issue in much greater depth, plus a link to a petition to make the cull stop, here:
http://www.junction49.co.uk/chapel/article1469.html
Sadly, the petition is only open to UK residents or nationals.
But wherever you live, please alert people to the fact that grey sqirrels, who are now crucial ambassadors for wildlife in many UK urban areas, now face this disgusting threat.
They can also sign the petition directly at the petition site:
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Grey-Squirrels
Thanks so much for any help you can give in getting the word aout about this.
