In 2014, Dr Helen McRobie, of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), found that the black fur is caused by the
grey squirrel having a pigment gene with a missing piece of DNA.
Charity Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels said this week following the Airthrey Loch incident: "We completely condemn the use of drowning as a method of
grey squirrel dispatch.
A WILDLIFE conservation group has come under attack from people accusing it of planning to "trap and kill"
grey squirrels.
Grey squirrel "By the end of March, these youngsters will have just opened their eyes and may have to be put to sleep.
The aim of the annual monitoring programme is to build a longterm dataset which will show changes that may occur to red and
grey squirrel ranges over time.
The aim of the annual monitoring programme is to build a long-term dataset which will show changes that may occur to red and
grey squirrel ranges over time.
Former environment minister Hannah Blythyn, who unveiled Wales' new
grey squirrel strategy late last year, stressed eradication is not on the table.
This result follows two successive years of
grey squirrel range expansion and provides some welcome news for the thousands of people involved in red squirrel conservation across the region.
Since the
grey squirrel colonised, red squirrels have largely vanished from Wales.
The squirrel pox virus, carried by the non-native
grey squirrel, has reached the central belt for the first time and may be present in Fife and Tayside.
A WILDLIFE campaigner has drowned a
grey squirrel to challenge the RSPCA to prosecute him.