LOCKDOWN SQUIRREL CRACKDOWN

We may have been enduring the frustration of lockdown, but squirrels on one of my woodland permissions have been having a whale of a time.

The trees, which are grown for their lumber value, cover several hundreds of acres in Oxfordshire. The battle with the grey pests is relentless. By stripping bark, they kill young trees and scar the wood, costing the owners many thousands of pounds each year.

That’s bad enough, but their presence is devastating for the indigenous woodland creatures as well. Not only do grey squirrels predate on bird eggs and chicks, they also eat much of the natural food before it is ripe. Field mice and dormice, for example, rely on hazelnuts only to find them all gone when they emerge from hibernation.

“THE SQUIRRELS ARE DEVASTATING FOR INDIGENOUS WOODLAND