Plea to help protect red squirrels as National Trust warns discarded litter could lead to squirrel pox outbreak

Plea to help protect red squirrels as National Trust warns discarded litter could lead to squirrel pox outbreak - The National Trust

The National Trust is urging its visitors to help protect endangered red squirrels from a deadly disease by taking their litter home with them, after one of the protected animals was photographed taking a plastic food carton to its nest at Formby, Merseyside.

red squirrel climbing a tree carrying an empty white plastic tub in its mouth. — Red squirrel at Formby. (image: Andrew Lakin)

As the charity marks Red Squirrel Awareness Week, Trust rangers are warning that dropped packaging and food could lead to the spread of squirrel pox – a disease which wiped out 80% of red squirrels in one its last strongholds in 2008.

The coastal site of Formby sits within the North Merseyside and West Lancashire Red Squirrel Stronghold, one of only a few refuges left for red squirrels across the UK.

Beauty spots across the UK have reported large numbers of visitors this year, leading in many places to an increase in litter being left behind.

“Of course, we all know that litter is a huge problem for our environment,” said Kate Martin, Area Ranger at National Trust Formby, “but we’re especially concerned at the impact it can have on our wildlife. Autumn is a particularly active time for Formby’s red squirrel population. It is part of their nature to forage for food to store in preparation for winter. If they are collecting food packaging dropped by visitors, that could really affect our ability to restrict the spread of squirrel pox.” Kate continued: “The best thing our visitors can do to help us protect our much-loved red squirrels is to avoid feeding them or leaving any litter, especially litter that may contain food. While visitors could feed the squirrels in the past, the rangers found that this behaviour encouraged the squirrels to group together and come into more contact with each other, increasing the risk of spreading infection. Squirrels are also susceptible to diseases caused by bacteria humans carry on our skin. It’s important to remember that the woodland at Formby is full of food for the squirrels to forage, including berries, lichen, fungi and pine cones. With the help of our visitors, we can continue to look after this habitat and see our red squirrel population thrive once again.”