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Legal protection for the red squirrel

The red squirrel is included in Schedules 5 and 6 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 (WCA) (The Wildlife & Countryside (Northern Ireland) Order 1985), which means that it is a protected species. This legislation has subsequently been amended, most recently by the Countryside & Rights of Way Act 2000 (CRoW) for England and Wales. The inclusion of the species in Schedule 5 means that, under Section 9 of the WCA and Article 10 of the W(NI) Order it is an offence to:

• Intentionally kill, injure or take (capture) a red squirrel [S9(1)]

• Intentionally or recklessly damage or destroy any structure or place a red squirrel uses for shelter or protection or disturb a red squirrel while it is occupying such a place [S9(4)]

• Possess a dead or live wild red squirrel, or any part of a red squirrel, unless you can show that the animal was taken legally. [S9(2)]

• Sell, or offer for sale, a wild red squirrel or any part of a wild red squirrel.
Under Section 11 of the Act, it is also illegal to:

• Set in place a trap, snare, electrical device for killing or stunning or any poisonous, poisoned or stupefying substance; use a decoy, gas or smoke, bows or cross-bows, explosives, automatic weapons or mechanically propelled vehicles which are of such a nature and so placed as to be calculated to cause bodily injury to a red squirrel.

For more information go to the JNCC website