The Government is considering a cull to eradicate Ireland’s grey squirrel population once and for all. 

Grey squirrels are an invasive species that originate from North America and their release in Longford in 1911 has decimated the population of Ireland’s native reds. 

The greys carry with them a disease called squirrel pox with them, which they are immune to but is fatal to red squirrels. 

A red squirrel. Picture by: Alamy.com.

They are also bigger and can outcomepete the reds for scarce food resources. 

On The Claire Byrne Show, Dr Emma Sheehy explained that the two species cannot live side by side and to protect red squirrels, the rival greys must be completely eradicated. 

While a squirrel contraceptive drug is currently being developed, at present, culling is the only solution. 

Between 2020 and 2024, Dr Sheehy oversaw a successful cull of the grey squirrel population in Aberdeen, which has seen reds return to the Granite City for the first time in years. 

The National Biodiversity Data Centre is now considering the feasibility of such a cull in Dublin and Wicklow. 

“You would be looking at trapping and traps that are specially modified to use in urban environments that are very specific to squirrels or to tree climbing mammals and won't impact other species,” she described. 

“Essentially what happened in Aberdeen is that the grey squirrels that were trapped would then be dispatched on site as quickly and humanely as possible.”

The return of the marten

In recent years, the range of the grey squirrel has been dramatically curtailed by the resurgence of the pine marten population. 

Once highly endangered, the weasel-like creature is highly adept at hunting grey squirrels. 

By contrast, red squirrels have co-evolved with the pine marten over thousands of years and are able to thrive alongside the nimble predator. 

“What we're seeing across most of the rest of the country is a recovery of red squirrels, which is a consequence of pine marten recovery,” Dr Sheehy said. 

“So, as pine martens have recovered, they have reversed the kind of typical outcome of competition between red and grey squirrels.

“Across much of the landscape in Ireland, not all of it, but much of it, we've seen red squirrels now with the competitive advantage and grey squirrels essentially having disappeared from a lot of the rural landscape.”

A pine marten in the wild. Picture by: Alamy.com.

However, despite the rejuvenation of the red squirrel population across much of rural Ireland, the greys remain endemic in Belfast, Dublin and parts of Wicklow. 

As the pine marten is not an urban creature, the only way to safeguard Ireland’s red squirrel population in the long-term is to cull those red squirrels surviving in Ireland’s two largest urban areas. 

“We actually are obliged to do something about grey squirrels,” Dr Sheehy said. 

“They're a species of EU concern and actually we do have to do something.

“This is looking at, well, what can we do? What would it cost? What are the environmental implications? And part of that is what is the public support for such an initiative?

“So, we want as many people as possible to take part in the survey.” 

Anyone wishing to fill out the survey can do so here.

Main image: A split of squirrels. Pictures by: Alamy.com.