Prince Charles has backed plans to kill grey squirrels to protect the UK's "much-loved" native reds.

Under a "squirrel accord" agreed at Dumfries House, the prince's stately home in Scotland, government, forestry officials and some conservationists agreed to undertake a renewed push to reduce grey numbers "through targeted and sustained action".

Owen Paterson, the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, told the meeting: "Red squirrels are a much-loved, but threatened, part of British wildlife. I fully support this accord and endorse the need to work together to revive our iconic red squirrel population, and encourage the planting of new broadleaved woodlands."



There are around 5 million greys in the UK, with numbers of reds estimated at 120,000-140,000 – 75% of which are in Scotland. Reds have decreased massively in number since a Victorian banker introduced a pair of greys after returning from a business trip in America. Greys carry a poxvirus that is deadly to reds, and are stronger and larger too.

The Prince of Wales, whose office confirmed he endorsed the accord, has previously written letters saying action is needed to "'drive out the greys". He is the patron of the Red Squirrel Survival Trust, a charity campaigning to stabilise and increase red numbers.

Charles Kinnoull, the charity's chairman, told the Guardian the meeting had an air of "optimistic determination".



"If something's being wiped out because of the overabundance of another, you need to take action. It's been a very torrid few decades [for the reds]."



He said the main way of controlling greys was by trapping them in cages and then "humanely disposing" of them. "It's the only real economic way of doing things. If you set out with a gun you could be waiting around for hours."

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) sitting in a tree on Brownsea Island, Dorset Photograph: Rick Wylie/Alamy

Grey squirrels also damage trees by stripping bark – such ring-barking can cause trees to die from that point up. A survey of members of the Royal Forestry Society put greys as a greater threat to broadleaved trees than damage from deer and diseases such as ash dieback.

Simon Lloyd, development director at the Royal Forestry Society, said: "Grey squirrels have caused immense damage in woodlands by stripping bark, sometimes killing the trees and often to an extent that few will ever reach their full environmental or timber potential."

The accord, which is also supported by Scottish Natural Heritage, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Scottish government, and the Forestry Commission, says that: "Grey squirrels need controlling because of the economic, social and environmental damage that they cause and their adverse impact on red squirrel populations which are part of the natural heritage of the British Isles and need protection."

Chris Packham, the BBC presenter and naturalist, told the Guardian he believed work on developing a vaccine to make reds immune to the poxvirus was the only longterm solution.

"Our chance to fully eradicate grey squirrels passed at some stage in the 1920s or 30s. The economic damage they do is limited and localised, such as to tree nurseries. Regarding their control, this should be strictly focused on the specific areas where they actively transmit the pox virus to the reds for the simple reason of costs alone. Killing greys where they do not threaten crops or infect reds is a complete waste of mone , time and energy - it's pointless vandalism," he said.

A spokesman for the charity Animal Aid condemned the accord and said: "Claims that they are trying to ‘save’ the red squirrel is disingenuous as reds are not endangered but are actually plentiful across their range. There are ways to help protect red squirrels. Establishing them on islands, changing forest planting and supplementing their feed could all help the much-loved animal, without harming the greys."