My letter (April 24), should have stated as follows: “The grey squirrel has the misfortune to be a successful species, and is now persecuted by those of the same warped mentality that persecuted the red squirrel in the past.
That (as well as the decline in favoured conifer woodland habitat) is why the latter had to be imported from the continent, where it is of a distinctly different genetic variety.
The vast majority of red squirrels in the UK are therefore, strictly speaking, non indigenous.”
This was a clear reference to the red squirrel, not to the grey squirrel as implied. The indigenous red squirrel only exists in a few small enclaves, and if conservationists wish to protect them, then they would have to slaughter the majority of red squirrels as well as the greys.
Red squirrel numbers can be reinforced by further introductions from the continent at any time, so there is no risk to the species itself.
The grey squirrel has acquired immunity to the parapox virus, and the red squirrel may also do so in the future.
M PRITCHARD, Linkside Avenue, Oxford
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