A wildlife venture wants to reintroduce native pink squirrels and humanely cull the non-native grey squirrel.
The Exmoor Squirrel Project is asking landowners to set stay traps and eating places to serve grey squirrel.
Performing supervisor Kerry Hosegood mentioned the grey squirrel was “wreaking havoc” on UK woodlands, costing about £40m a yr in tree harm.
“If we do not put good motion plans in place, we can’t recognise our landscapes in any respect any extra,” she mentioned.
“Our woodlands, panorama and the biodiversity is not set as much as cope with the behaviours of the grey.”
‘Very severe venture’
Based on the venture, grey squirrels assault timber for meals and strip the timber “finally resulting in tree loss of life”.
“Over 150 years, it is [been] wiping out a lot of our nature and our woodlands aren’t in a position to restore themselves fast sufficient,” mentioned Ms Hosegood.
“The grey squirrel is wreaking a lot havoc on our woodlands throughout the UK.
“This is not one thing that we prefer to exit and do and simply goal greys and say ‘Let’s take away all of them.’ It is a very severe venture and there are plenty of managed plans in place as to how they’re truly handled.
“The pink is our native squirrel and in Nice Britain it is all the way down to an estimated 120,000 for reds compared to now an estimated three million invasive greys.”
Ms Hosegood mentioned the organisation would additionally prefer to encourage using grey squirrels on menus to restrict waste.
“We will introduce them to eating places within the Exmoor space as a result of they really make for good consuming,” she mentioned.
“There isn’t any waste there. They will be put to some good use as a substitute of being put in a gap within the floor.”
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