Grey squirrels are unfairly maligned | Letters

Red squirrels, for whose troubles the greys are blamed, became virtually extinct in the UK before greys were even introduced, writes Natalia Doran

Your article (The faddy eater: Could I stomach southern-fried squirrel?, 22 February) should be admired for its honesty in showing appropriate discomfort with the idea of eating a creature that should have been living, breathing, playing, instead of suffering an early violent death. However, it also propagates a couple of myths regarding the highly intelligent and successful grey squirrel. The thing is, red squirrels, for whose troubles the greys are blamed, became virtually extinct in this country before greys were even introduced. That happened because of habitat loss. The reds were then also reintroduced from continental Europe, so the "nativeness" narrative is flawed. The tree damage is hugely exaggerated as well - the Forestry Commission puts the damage at 5%. More is lost due to poor growing practices. Furthermore, that figure relates to commercial forestry: in natural woodland grey squirrels are uniformly good for the ecosystem.
Natalia Doran
Urban Squirrels, London

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