The great British public want to see Squirrel Nutkin saved from extinction. According to results of a new survey revealed exclusively to Countryfile Magazine today by the Red Squirrel Survival Trust (RSST), 86 percent of people in Britain believe that the threatened red squirrel should be saved, with only 3 percent answering that it shouldn’t.

Of the 1,001 people surveyed by the charity, which was launched by Prince Charles earlier this month, 88 percent would like to see reds back in their parks and gardens, while 70 percent believe that the government should be doing more.

Since the introduction of the grey squirrel 130 years ago, the red squirrel population has dramatically fallen, leaving approximately 160,000 in pockets of England and Wales, with the majority found in Scotland. In comparison, the grey squirrel population is estimated at around 2.5 million countrywide.

It is feared that within 10 years the red squirrel will be extinct in Britain due to competition from the greys, which eat seven times more food per hectare than reds and also carry the squirrel pox virus, which is deadly to reds.

The figures from the RSST also show that this isn’t just a view held by country folk. Of those asked in London, more than 80 percent believed that the red should be saved, with 92 percent wanting to see reds dominating the capital’s parklands. The RSST believes the only way to really help red squirrels return from the brink of extinction is by systematic trapping and killing of greys. Their aim is to make Cumbria a grey squirrel control zone to protect the red population.

Dr Craig Shuttleworth, project director of Friends of the Anglesey Red Squirrels and advisor to the RSST, told Countryfile Magazine of the success of a similar scheme on the Isle of Anglesey. He said: “When we began our work on Anglesey in 1998 there were only 40 red squirrels left, all within one 250-hectare conifer plantation, with all remaining woodland swamped by 3,000 adult greys. We made the obvious decision and got rid of the greys in the immediate area using live capture traps. Within a few years the number of reds had risen to 100 and when they’d filled the area, they started to spread into the broadleaf woodlands surrounding the original Mynydd Llwydiarth conifer plantation.”

As the woodland on Anglesey is fragmented, Dr Shuttleworth’s team gave the reds a helping hand by removing the greys from Newborough Forest on the southwest of the isle in 2004. A handful of red squirrels were released into the wild and today around 100 adult reds populate Newborough.

Following this success, Dr Shuttleworth took up the challenge of introducing reds to a broadleaved woodland near Beaumaris, an area that hadn’t seen the native squirrel since the 1980s. Between 2006 and 2007, three adults were released and now the Friends of Anglesey Red Squirrels report a total of 20 to 30 adult reds within the area. Indeed, red squirrels have been spotted in gardens some 3 miles away. It is now estimated that the grey squirrel population on Anglesey currently numbers no more than 30.

“I’m the first to admit that Anglesey has an advantage, because we are surrounded by a moat,” says Dr Shuttleworth. “We’re not a blueprint but an example of what you can do. Alongside our results, and successful schemes in Cumbria and Northumberland, we are seeing green shoots of recovery for the red.

“Big challenges still remain, but the secret is that when red squirrels return to woodlands, local people very soon take ownership of them, as they realise what they nearly lost. They start groups to help protect the reds’ territory and cull the greys. Our task is to make sure there are no gaps in the coverage.”

However, many animal welfare campaigners believe that a cull isn’t necessary and instead efforts should be made to find a vaccine for the squirrel pox. A RPSCA spokesperson told Countryfile Magazine: “The RSPCA is concerned about the welfare of both red and grey squirrels, and believes that control must not be interpreted solely as lethal control.

“The RSPCA questions whether stemming the movement of grey squirrels is sustainable indefinitely, and believes that science-based alternative measures to culling to reduce the impact of grey squirrels on reds should be actively investigated. These could include immuno-contraception trials to reduce the breeding success of grey squirrels.

“Eradicating long-established entire populations of greys would be very difficult and cause suffering.”

For Dr Shuttleworth, who believes that we will not realistically see an effective vaccine for at least five years, localised culls are “buying time”.

“The ultimate objection has to be a complete eradication of grey squirrels from the UK,” he said. “But that is not a tangible objective at the moment. It’s an aspiration and you’ve got to do it one step at a time. Ten years ago the message was that it was all over for the red squirrel. That message has changed.”