When this petition launched, we knew something was deeply wrong.
Red squirrel woodlands were being felled. Existing protections were being ignored. And one of Britain’s most loved native mammals was quietly disappearing from our forests.
Today, nearly 78,000 people have supported this campaign.
Together, we have pushed red squirrels back onto the national agenda. MPs, journalists, broadcasters and conservation organisations are now paying attention.
But awareness alone will not save them.
Over the past few weeks, something important has changed.
The latest Great Britain Red List now classifies red squirrels as Endangered. In England and Wales, they are Endangered. This is no longer simply a conservation concern in the distance.
It is a national wildlife emergency unfolding right now.
That is why today we are updating this petition with a clear Save Our Reds 5-Point Emergency Plan, setting out exactly what Government and devolved authorities must do next.
Our Save Our Reds 5-Point Emergency Plan:
- Legally protect red squirrel woodlands immediately
- Enforce existing wildlife law, with named accountability
- Deliver and properly audit biodiversity set-aside within woodland schemes
- Fund and fast-track squirrelpox vaccine and grey squirrel fertility control, with a public timetable
- Put trained wildlife rangers on the ground now, not next year
These are not unrealistic demands.
They are practical, deliverable actions based on policies and protections that already exist.
The laws already exist.
Funding has already been announced.
Biodiversity protections already form part of forestry guidance.
What is missing is urgency, enforcement, transparency and political will.
Now we need your help again.
The single most powerful thing supporters can do this week is share this petition widely.
Many people still have no idea how close England is to losing its red squirrels altogether.
Let’s take this campaign past 80,000 signatures before the first Save Our Reds Day on Friday 15 May.
Every signature adds pressure.
Every share expands the reach.
Every conversation pushes this issue further onto the national agenda.
If you have already signed, thank you. You are helping build one of the UK’s largest grassroots wildlife campaigns in recent years.
If you have not yet signed, now is the moment.
Red squirrels are Endangered.
The emergency plan is clear.
Now we demand action.
Marie Carter-Robb
Founder, Save Our Reds CIC
saveourreds.uk