Why continue witch hunt of grey squirrels?
SIR, I read with little surprise the letter from Sally of Ponteland Red Squirrels (‘Herald’, March 13) who yet again forcefully states fiction as fact, hoping that the lack of scientific origin will go un-noticed. It is correct that grey squirrels can carry squirrelpox virus, but so also can reds. Given the much closer proximity of reds to other reds, it is likely that they will spread the disease within the population far faster than greys ever could. However, given how “deadly” Sally believes this disease is, it is rather strange that there aren’t red squirrels lying dead all over the county. As I mentioned in my previous letter, there is a distinct possibility that red squirrels are showing resistance to squirrelpox, hence why they’re not all dying out “within weeks”. This is how all animals evolve to combat disease – some die out but those that survive will go on to be part of a stronger healthier community. The lack of habitat and food for red squirrels has very little to do with
