| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Free animal trap - humane | |
| Posted by: | Charlotte Kasner | |
| Date/Time: | 18/06/19 17:37:00 |
| The Wildlife and Countryside Act isn't new; it was first enacted 38 years ago and most recently amended nearly a decade ago. Section 9, far from being "stupid" protects extremely vulnerable native species, including red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) and many ecosystems. The American grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) spreads a virus (which does not cause it any harm), to our native red species, for which it is fatal. Red squirrels principally eat pine nuts but will also eat other nuts, fungi, green shoots, fruit and berries. Grey squirrels will eat the same things but also songbird chicks and eggs. Conservancy and wildlife surveys have found that woodland songbird populations can be depleted by as much as 15% because of grey squirrel predation. Grey squirrels also strip bark from trees, causing £14m of damage per annum, with trees being most vulnerable between 10 and 40 years of age. Many of those trees have been planted using public funds and have been cared for for up to four decades. A survey by the Forestry Commission of vulnerable woodlands in Great Britain completed in 2000 found that 100% of sycamore, 66% of beech and 30% of oak and sweet chestnut stands had been damaged by grey squirrels. When trees die because of grey squirrel damage, an entire micro-ecosystem is lost. No more dependent fungi, no shade for woodland floor plants, no homes for birds and insects. Luckily, some conservationists do not rely on sentiment and the fluffy appeal of the grey squirrel, so that it why it is rightly illegal to release live trapped grey squirrels. Unluckily for the species that are suffering the effects of this non-native animal and for those of us who appreciate more than a fluffy tail, some people think that they can take the law into their own hands because they know better. |