This week, Baroness Sue Hayman of Ullock attended a red squirrel conference wearing a designer dress printed with grey squirrels.

The sartorial mishap appears to have been unintentional, but it serves as a stark reminder of how easily the red squirrel crisis is misunderstood or minimised, even in the very rooms where it should be front of mind.

What makes it more surprising is her background. Baroness Hayman is the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at Defra with responsibility for biosecurity and animal welfare. She is also President of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, a charity championing the survival of the UK’s native breeds of livestock and equines.

In RBST’s own announcement, Baroness Hayman speaks about the importance of native breeds, animal welfare, good farming practices, and ensuring government understands what matters for the future of our countryside.

That is exactly why we hope she will engage with this issue too.

Because when it comes to squirrels, the imbalance is brutal: there are an estimated 2.7 million grey squirrels in Britain, while red squirrel numbers are estimated at around 150,000 to 280,000, and declining. Reds are disappearing quietly from much of England and Wales.

Save Our Reds is calling for legal protections to be properly enforced, and for remaining woodland strongholds to be actively safeguarded.

Please share the petition: Save Our Reds Petition

If you have friends in farming, forestry, conservation, or Parliament, sharing this today really helps.