Grey squirrels on the pill to save their red relatives!

New research with oral contraceptives has been launched aiming at controlling the population of grey squirrels

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Oral contraceptives are effective for birth control of not only humans but also grey squirrels!

In recent years, scientists have been trying to keep the population of grey squirrels down as they pose a threat to wildlife, including endangered red squirrels and they are also a menace to trees.

After a trial of oral contraceptives, the UK Squirrel Accord, a UK-wide partnership of 41 conservation and forestry organisations, has released the project’s positive results.

Environment Minister Lord Benyon had previously described grey squirrels as “pests” who “cause untold damage in the British countryside”.

Commenting on a picture of newly planted chestnut trees in a garden, the minister said: “I hope one day our native red squirrels will be in your garden free of the risk of squirrel pox, transferred by greys.”

A Defra spokesperson said: “Invasive non-native species such as grey squirrel and muntjac deer threaten our native biodiversity and cost the economy £1.8 billion a year.

“The government is committed to ensuring the wide ranging impacts of invasive non-native species are reduced, and the Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order which came into force in December 2019 is an important tool to achieve this aim.”

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