Don’t Support The Red Squirrels Trust Wales
Vernon Coleman
The Red Squirrels Trust Wales claims to promote the conservation of red squirrels on Anglesey. The organisation is funded by the Lottery and has been featured on the BBC’s Autumn Watch programme. One of the main boasts of the Trust is that ‘Red Squirrels Boost Tourism’. And, indeed, that’s probably the main difference between red and grey squirrels. Both damage trees but the red looks cuddly and ‘cuddly’ often seems important in conservation matters. The current promotion of the red squirrel is merely fashionable. In the past the red squirrel was regarded as a pest.
It is important to remember that as part of its plan to promote the red squirrel (and aid local businesses) the Red Squirrels Trust Wales is busy killing grey squirrels. The ‘wrong’ coloured squirrels are caught in traps and ‘allowed to venture out from the wire trap into sacking’. What happens then? ‘The squirrel is then moved into a corner of the sack and with the head positioned carefully within the corner, killed humanely by a single blow to the back of the head.’
That, it seems, is ‘conservation’ as practised on Anglesey. Real animal lovers should, in my view, keep well away from Red Squirrels Trust Wales. Don’t support them and don’t give them money.
Copyright Vernon Coleman 2013
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