Grey squirrel rescue and release licences extended

We welcome the government’s announcement today that licences for rescuing and releasing grey squirrels will be extended until October 2019. This is great news for both grey squirrels and rescue organisations who were facing great uncertainty about their future after this month.

However, it is important to emphasise that the government do still plan to revoke these licences in October, and we will continue to campaign against this. Grey squirrels have been unfairly scapegoated for the decline of red squirrels, and plans to make it effectively illegal to rescue them mean the most vulnerable group (the orphaned and the injured) of this species will be are punished for factors beyond their control.

We are so grateful to everyone who has spoken out for grey squirrels so far. Please continue to stand up for them, and sign and share Urban Squirrels’ petition to make rescue centres exempt from these new regulations.