ISSUE 35 NOVEMBER 2017

www.europeansquirrel init iat ive.org

Publ ished by the European Squir re l In i t iat ive

The Great Storm,Its Legacy

Page 1

EditorialI hope that you will enjoy reading this edition of Squirrel as it is a particularly diverse edition.We have spent some time looking backwards this year. Firstly we looked at our achievementsover the last 15 years since ESI was formed and we are proud to have pushed the agendaregarding openly controlling the grey squirrel for the protection of trees and woodland fauna.Secondly, we looked back at 2 woodlands that were blown down and restocked after theOctober 1987 storm. One woodland had grey squirrel control and one did not and, as youwould expect, the results were self-evident. Thirdly, we have had to say goodbye to one ofour trustees and we looked back at the impact, the eminent Bede Howell, has had on theforestry world. It is significant and ESI will miss his sage advice and quick wit.

Jigger Writes...

As usual we get two influxes ofsquirrels a year. After they breed theymove in looking for food and cover.When the leaves fall off in theplantations, the old summer dreysappear; I try to find these and pokethem out. My employer finds quite afew when he is out in the woods andthen asks me to deal with them. This year it seemed to take longer

then normal to get the squirrels down toan acceptable level i.e. not seeing orcatching a squirrel. I put this down tothe fact that we keep losing traps to the“Antis” etc.

Determined to stay on form, Iunhooked all the traps hanging on thewall in the workshop as they will notcatch squirrels there! To protect thetraps, I dip them in my wife’s old chipfryer oil (she seems to get a lot of that!).After draining them I set them along thetrap line for speed and efficiency. Itdoes not pay to wander around thewoods with traps in your hands. I amhoping to build my traps up to twohundred again.So, squirrels “Beware we will be ready

and waiting”…

However, as we approach the end ofthis year, we are starting to focus on thefuture and you will see that we are stillbusy across a range of activities.We are:• Working with the NGO to promote

grey squirrel control groups acrossthe UK to supplement the excellentcontrol work done by BASC and thered squirrel conservation groups.

• Continuing to support Good Naturewhile they bring the A18 Trap through

the Spring Trap Order tests andlegislation.

• Continuing with funding research intoa grey squirrel lure and always on thelookout for new and novel greysquirrel control methods.

• Welcoming new trustees andmembers of the managementcommittee to keep our focus sharpand current.

• Reviewing our position on PineMarten as a biological control

predator for the grey squirrel. • Reviewing the research potential

regarding the scale of the landscapeimpact of grey squirrel damage.

As always, ESI is indebted to itssupporters for their financial and non-financial contributions and to all thosewho help the charity. We remain deeplygrateful for your continued support.

George FarrChairman

If you would be interested in advertising in Squirrel please contact us...

European Squirrel Initiative 26 Rural Innovation Centre, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, CV8 2LG.  Tel: +44 (0)2476 992360Email: info@europeansquirrelinitiative.org

George Farr

Waiting For The Invasion

Jigger Mallett Vermin controller at a Suffolk estate

Page 2

ESI Update - by Andrew Kendall, ESI

The time since the last newsletter has been taken up with a series ofanniversaries or milestones for ESI. In June we saw the 15th anniversary ofthe creation of the charity and last month it was the 30 years since theGreat Storm of 1987.Both events were used by ESI to

focus on its core message of theimportance of grey squirrel control. In June we held a meeting in London

at which many of ESI’s founders werepresent. It allowed us to recap ourachievements over the last 15 years, butalso to remind those present of ourcurrent work and new initiatives.The Great Storm was commemorated

with a visit to the Freechase andLydhurst Estates in West Sussex, this isreported on more fully elsewhere in themagazine, but we are grateful to ownersSir Adrian Baillie and Lady Baillie and ourown Charles Dutton for a fascinatingfield visit where we saw the impact ofgrey squirrel damage on newly plantedtrees.ESI continues to achieve publicity and

it is important that ESI promote itsmessage to as wide and influential anaudience as possible. We are fortunatein having a number of interested friendsin the media, who appreciate andsupport our work.

Thanks again to the work of CharlesDutton, ESI has been active in setting upa series of squirrel control gun clubs.While most of these have been incollaboration with BASC, ESI is nowlooking at other partners, including theNGO (National Gamekeepers’Organisation) to spread the net evenfarther. In the world of research, ESI continues

to support a number of projects in theUK, Ireland and Italy. ESI has alwaysmaintained that the principles of its workmust be based on sound scientificresearch. ESI is working withRothamsted on an effective lure for greysquirrels and will shortly be conducting aresearch programme into the long-termimpact of grey squirrels on ourlandscape.ESI continues to support work with

Good Nature in developing andpromoting its trap. The Good NatureA18 has now passed the DEFRA“humane” test and is currently goingthrough the approvals process of the EU

before it can be submitted to DEFRA tobe included on the Trap Order. It ishoped that this will take place aroundthe middle of 2018.An effective method on

immunocontraception is likely to beseveral years away and in the meantimeESI is focussing on more short term andinnovative methods of grey control,including biological ones such as thepine marten.

Andrew Kendall has been involvedwith ESI since its founding in 2002,

and is responsible for the day to day operation of the charity.

Jigger Mallett Vermin controller at a Suffolk estate

Page 3

Bede Howell, OBE, a founder trusteeof the European Squirrel Initiative,retired at the charities June meetingafter 15 years in the role. Bede, a former Royal Forestry Society

president and recipient of the Society’sGold Medal for his distinguished servicesto the profession, has been a tireless

and enthusiastic supporter of ESI and itswork. Someone who is never reluctantto dish out “squirrel pie”, Bede hasprovided unstinting service to the charitywith his wise words, sound advice andinnovative suggestions.“He will be missed by all of us, his

knowledge and indeed humour, have

enlivened many a trustees meeting” saidGeorge Farr, ESI Chairman. “I hope wehaven’t lost him for good and that wecan continue to call upon his sagewords and good advice in the future”.Bede’s position as trustee has been

taken by another well known forester,Andrew Falcon.

In the Press For the full stories please visit:www.europeansquirrelinitiative.org/news

“Fears red squirrels maybe wiped out in one oftheir last Britishstrongholds...”

DAILY MAIL

“Squirrel causes poweroutage for thousands

in Stamford”THE STAMFORD ADVOCATE

“A nice bit of squirrel:should we chow down a

diet of invasive species?”THE GUARDIAN

“‘Kill them, kill them, killthem’: the volunteer

army plotting to wipe outBritain’s grey squirrels”

THE GUARDIAN

“The plight of thered squirrel”

PORTSMOUTH NEWS

“Killer grey squirrels evadesnipers to enter reds’ haven”

THE TIMES

Retirement Of Bede Howell OBE

Page 4

Do Your PartAs our supporters will know, ESIwas key in getting the AmericanGrey Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis,included in the European Union’s“Invasive Alien Species (IAS)” list.

This was a landmark move for thefight against grey squirrels in GreatBritain and Europe. The list includesanimal and plant species considered tohave the most severe effects onbiodiversity, ecosystems and humanactivities. The inclusion of the Americangrey squirrel on the list makes theircontrol within the European Uniona top priority.As part of the fight against

invasive alien species the EU hasreleased a new app, and all youneed to play your part is asmartphone! The app is designedto allow users to log and recordsightings of invasive species on acentralised database, so helpingto build up population picturesacross the EU.The app is called Invasive Alien

Species in Europe and can bedownloaded from iStore (iPhone)or PlayStore (Android)for free.

The NGO is working with its membersto create clubs with fully “vetted”members who are properly insured,trained and interviewed to ensure theymeet the requirements of the club.Permission will be obtained from the

landowner, the holder of the shootingrights and the keeper. Written agreementwill be entered into specifying:

• The control method• The species to which the agreement

is limited• The type of guns involved (in this case

it will be airguns)• A requirement to communicate each

time before coming onto the land• Agree in advance the position of any

feeders and hides.

“This is a great initiative and we aredelighted the at the NGO is working withESI in its campaign to control greysquirrels” said Charles Dutton. “Buildingon the work we began with BASC thisgives us access to a group ofresponsible and experienced shooterswho can help with our task”.

ESI Partners with the NGOBuilding on the success of the squirrel control gun clubs established with BASC, ESI isnow collaborating with the National Gamekeepers Organisation in an initiative which willdraw upon the expertise of NGO members around the country. The aim is to createproperly managed and approved gun clubs, run by resident game keepers and other NGOmembers to control grey squirrels by shooting. Air rifles will be used and all activities willtake place with the full approval of the landowner in a controlled and regulated way.

Once you havedownloaded the app,should you see a grey squirrel:1. Snap a picture with your phonecamera

2. Open the app

3. Select report a sighting

4. Select grey squirrel from the listof species

5. Upload your photo

6. The app will automatically recordyour geographical coordinates, date

and time ofsighting

7. Record yourestimated numberof individuals

8. Select terrestrial

9. Add a commentshould you wish

10. Click send!You can also use this app

to record other peskyspecies such a muntjacdeer, American skunk

cabbage and the NorthAmerican signal crayfish.

Page 5

Great weals and gashes in the trunksof native trees reaching a critical 30+years of growth on a West Sussexestate demonstrate the sheer scale ofsquirrel damage to woodland replantedafter the Great Storm of 1987.Exactly 30 years ago, great swathes

of timber lay flattened like matchwoodacross the south of England, ravagedby the ferocious ‘extratropical cyclone’that swept through the Weald on thenight of October 15-16 with gusts of upto 120mph. It has been estimated that15 million trees were destroyed.The effort and money put into the

post-storm clear-up of forests andwooded areas was considerable. Somelandowners, including the National Trust,did not attempt complete clearing andreplanting, believing there was a uniqueopportunity to study the patterns ofnatural regeneration after such an event,but significant planting did take placeover the following 10 years. Not all ofthis went hand in hand with effectivegrey squirrel control.Around 40 ESI supporters, including

foresters, landowners, farmers,naturalists, other interested observersand attendant media gathered at the

invitation of Sir Adrian and Lady Bailliefor a seminar at the Lydhurst Estate,Warninglid, to demonstrate theirreversible damage inflicted by greysquirrels on unmanaged woodland. The owners are in a unique position to

judge the impact, as they acquired theLydhurst Estate – which is adjacent totheir Freechase Estate – only last year.While grey squirrel control is routinelyundertaken at Freechase, woodlandhad largely been left to its own devicesin recent years at Lydhurst due to illhealth of the previous owners. The twoapproaches offered a stark reminder ofthe damage, loss of biodiversity,potential waste and sheer cost,including taxpayer-funded grants via theForestry Commission, of woodland thathas been left unmanaged in the wake ofthe Great Storm, estimated by some tobe as high as £600m.Thirty years on, trees planted in the

years following the cyclone are now attheir most vulnerable to grey squirreldamage. Lack of proper control meansthat those replacement trees –especially in south east England, wherelandscapes are associated with ancientand dynamic woodland – will never

grow in the same way theirpredecessors did.A growing grey squirrel population

was suddenly noticed by estate staff atthe Freechase Estate over 10 years ago,and a programme of control was put inplace. Because of their quick actions,most of the young trees were saved,and this work continues. At the LydhurstEstate, by contrast, ESI visitors wereshown how grey squirrels attackednative species — especially oak, beechand sweet chestnut, and particularly at20-40 years old — in the quest for food,particularly at certain times of the year.Their goal, as they dig into and erodethe tree bark, is phloem, the living tissuethat transports food and water from theroots as a vital part of photosynthesis.Without this essential life force, treeleaders are visibly shredded and the treewill ultimately die, spelling an end to thefamiliar and much-loved landscape withwhich the region is associated. After a welcome by ESI chairman

George Farr, squirrel expert CharlesDutton, senior forestry manager of Pryor& Rickett Silviculture, opened theseminar by demonstrating the financialas well as the physical cost of this grey

Havoc Played with Great Storm ReplantingsAt an ESI seminar and estate walk in West Sussex in October, CatherinePaice was among the visitors to witness extensive grey squirrel damage totrees planted after the Great Storm of 1987.

Feature

Page 6

squirrel damage. He outlined thepotential expenditure of replanting thathad “gone down the pan” since theGreat Storm, through planting grants,lost biodiversity and wasted timber.“How serious are we about plantingtrees?” he asked. “I believe we are in agolden age of silviculture, but it needs across-party political approach toproduce guidelines andrecommendations for tree growers. It istoo costly a problem for landowners totry and manage themselves.”Referring back to 1987, Graham

Taylor, managing director of Pryor &Rickett Silviculture, told visitors that 1.25million non-woodland trees and 13.75million forest trees were lost to the GreatStorm. He demonstrated the amount oftime, effort and cost of regenerating andrecovering the landscape over theintervening period. “People argue thatthey can’t justify the cost of grey squirrelcontrol, but I would argue that if youwant fine trees, and you want them tobe worth something, you need tocontrol grey squirrels.”Alternative means of controlling

squirrels were also discussed duringthe day, including local shoot groups,fertility control, alternative food sources,better traps (including Goodnaturetraps), pine martens and, most recently,a lure to make trapping more effective.More research on all these options wascalled for. Public opinion, when aware of the

relentless damage caused by greysquirrels to trees and woodland, islargely behind the work of ESI. The visitto Warninglid and to the Freechase andLydhurst Estates served to reinforce theimportance of ESI’s work by highlightingthe damage caused to trees, which arevulnerable to squirrel damage until theyare around 40 years old, and the threatto Britain’s future landscape and timberresource.

ESI is grateful of Pryor & RickettSilviculture, Sir Adrian and Lady Baillie,and the Freechase and Lydhurst Estatesfor their support of this event.

Feature

Page 7

The LIFE+ Project - LIFE U-SAVEREDS was launched in 2014 to protect thenative red squirrel and forest biodiversity in central Italy. Here, in 2015 thethreat to conservation was represented by about 1500 grey squirrels,concentrated in urban parks and in several small private properties in the cityof Perugia and its surroundings, for a total project area of about 50 km2.

Italy - Updates From The Life U-SaveredsProject: Halfway To Success?

Grey squirrel removal started at thebeginning of 2016. First, a large numberof animals were captured in the corearea of the grey squirrel range: in about10 days, the project staff captured andeuthanized about 300 animals in anarea of 38 hectares.This positive result was easily

achieved, since the project staff wereable to access most of the core areaand to carry out capture activities on aregularly basis. The second phase of the project

involved a wider geographical area withmore privately held land and the supportof the local population was needed.Concerted attempts were made to gainthe support of the local population. A‘door-to-door’ campaign where projectstaff attempted to contact 566landowners asking for permission to

enter their properties was carried out.253 responses were obtained, 103 ofwhich were positive. Subsequently wecontacted landowners on the phone, afurther 7.4% agreed to collaborate in theproject.Due to the low levels of compliance

from local landowners, the project couldonly continue sporadically. Additionally,in the spring and summer of 2017 localanimal rights groups became active inthe area of the project, damaging greysquirrel traps placed in public areaswithin the city of Perugia. They alsotargeted the information campaignwhich the project was running-vandalizing notice boards informing thegeneral public about the threat posedby alien species. Nevertheless, by the end of July

2017, 778 grey squirrels had been

removed (51.5% of the estimated 2015population - 20 of these animals werecaptured, sterilized and released).Through concerted effort we managedto gain access to half of the outlinedproject area, though the accessibleproperties were irregularly distributed

Location of the Project area in Italyand map of Management Units,showing the grey squirrel distributionin 2015.

International News

Page 8

International News

Detail of the Management Unit map,showing the suitable habitat for greysquirrel and the irregular distributionof the areas actually managed (darkgrey). Depending on the ManagementUnit, the percentage of accessibleland varies from 25 to about 80%.

over an area of 26.5 km2. In order toovercome this obstacle, we divided theproject into management units. Weanalyzed the spatial distribution of thosetraps that we had detailed data onanimal abundance for, it was possible toshow the clear relationship between theproportion of animals removed and thepercentage of accessible area. In somemanagement units where collaborationwith landowners was difficult wefocused on the strategic positioning oftraps. This proved successful and evenin areas where we only had access to64% of the land, we removed 80% ofthe grey squirrel population.The results achieved so far confirm

that the road to success is steep: door-to-door/phone campaigns aretime-consuming and a largecommunication effort is required toconvince and doubtful citizens and gettheir cooperation. Also, field dataconfirm that the area actually managedshould not be less than a critical value of75-80%. In the absence of activecitizenship support, a strategicpositioning of traps may allow toachieve good results, but, overall, theoutcome of management remainsstrongly dependent on active citizencollaboration.

Page 9

International News

Grey squirrels were never meant to bein British Columbia (BC). They are awoodland species native to easternCanada and should not be found in anywoodland in western states. Intrigued bythe potential impacts they might behaving, I was lucky enough to spend sixweeks in BC working alongside theindomitable Karl Larsen, a scientist whohas spent more than a decade trying toget Government to prevent further greysquirrel range expansion. Karl’s research has shown that grey

squirrels will eat a broad spectrum offruit and nuts, many of which are growncommercially in the Okanagan valleywhere grey squirrels are now wellentrenched. Indeed they are alreadyhaving some localised impact, mainly byconsuming cobnuts. Individuals alsooccasionally enter roof and attic spaceswhere they cause damage to loftinsulation and wiring. Currently the levelof damage to commercial property andcrops is quite low, however, it is wellknown that invasive species can persist

in a new environment for many years,sometimes decades, without anyobvious detrimental impacts beforesuddenly causing severe problems. Thismay be due to changes in weatherpatterns, farming practices and or thearrival of other non-native species. InCanada this lesson has not beenlearned and instead the State focus isupon addressing those invasive weedspecies and aquatic alien speciesalready known to be causing significanteconomic or ecological problems. The

ESI’s scientific advisor, Dr Craig Shuttlworth, was awarded the 2017 Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship whichgave him the opportunity to travel to Canada this year to look at the control of eastern grey and fox squirrels inWestern Canada. As our readers will be aware Dr Shuttlworth has been involved with ESI since its beginnings, hehas published widely, including Grey Squirrels, Ecology and Management of Invasive Species, and has beeninstrumental in the clearance of the grey squirrel from Anglesey.

Grey squirrels in western Canada

Page 10

Slovenia is a very beautiful littlecountry, below Austria and east ofItaly and is 58% forested mostly onand around the wonderful mountainsand hills. It is about the size of Walesbut population is 2 m as opposed to5.5 m and half the size ofSwitzerland.My original attraction was to see the

International Wildflower Festival held inBohinj in May every year, but thought itwould be good to understand the forestrywhile I was there. The Royal ForestrySociety gave me a bursary to study theforestry and write a report which I havedone with enthusiasm because it is justso wonderful; just so much of it and sowell managed by the Slovenian ForestryService. Two members of staff sparedtheir friendship, time and knowledge withme for which I am truly grateful. There areover 800 staff in the Service and about600 are involved in the forests. They havejurisdiction over every tree and markmillions every year to be felled. Timber isexported to Austria and Italy and a veryimportant ingredient in the Nationaleconomy.I did mention grey squirrels to my

forestry mentors but they did not reallyunderstand the first time, so I asked ESIto contact one of them with information.Then last week I was there again with aMISSION to help keep The DreadedGreys Out of Slovenian forests.Previously I had sent photos of strippedtrees this August but that did not seem topenetrate either so I am going to try myutmost to convince the Slovenian ForestryService to take the matter VERY seriously.

More news later.

Sloveniaby Chloe Darling, a Randle Bursary recipient

International Newsgrey squirrel may have a bad record inEurope but as long as the speciesbehaves in western Canada, it isunfortunately easy for it to be quietlyignored.So how can we change Government

perspective? Any change is likely tocome about largely through publicpressure and a better understanding ofthe true impacts of grey squirrels.During my visit, Karl & I worked withlocal communities and documented awillingness for local people to getinvolved in grey squirrel control. Therewas no shortage of people willing tocontrol greys to safeguard localbiodiversity and no shortage of peoplewilling to support any Governmentfunded interventions to reduce greysquirrel distribution. People also voicedconcerns about the pathogens thatgrey squirrels might carry, especiallyinfections which might affect indigenouswildlife. There has been surprisingly littleresearch in this area and so Karl & Iharvested blood and tissues from 70grey squirrels with a view to testing forsquirrel pox virus, adenovirus and otherzoonotic infections.

Later I visited First Nation bands, metfur trappers and spent time in northernresearch forests to understand howgrey squirrel incursion may be detectedin vast forest landscapes and toinvestigate whether forest structure andspecies composition might be effectivebarriers to continued successful rangeexpansion. Grey squirrels are currentlyconcentrated within broadleavedhabitats in coastal and river valleys, andin urban and suburban habitats wheremany non-native hardwood tree specieshave been planted. Intriguingly, they dooccupy coniferous old growth forest inVancouver city and appear to have hadlittle impact upon the Douglas squirrelthere. In contrast, there is evidence atinterface areas, that grey squirrelplunder red squirrel winter stores andmay affect winter survival as aconsequence.A full report on Craig’s visit toCanada will be available from theWinston Churchill Memorial Trust aspart of his 2017 Fellowship ‘Nutkinventured, nutkin gained: evolvinggrey squirrel managementtechniques.’

PACIFICOCEAN

NORTHWESTTERRITORIES

ALBERTA

SASKATCHEWAN

MANITOBA

NUNAVUT

BRITISHCOLUMBIA

YUKON

Vancouver

USA

Vancouver

USA

OkanaganValley

As these screen grabs from DEFRA’s Instagram account show,it is worrying they are still promoting grey squirrels.

What is DEFRA up to?!?

Page 11

Name ____________________________________________________________________

Email address _____________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

This is the 35th edition of The Squirrel, and here at ESI we areconstantly looking at ways to improve our communication with our

readers and supporters. In order to help improve communication withyou all we will be producing an e-newsletter in addition to the printed

magazine that you already enjoy. This will also allow us tocommunicate with our readers more regularly.

Please could you email info@europeansquirrelinitiative.org with youremail details or complete the form below and send to:

European Squirrel Initiative, 26 Rural Innovations Centre, Stoneleigh Park,

Warwickshire, CV8 2LG.

ESI SupportsInternationalColloquiumESI has agreed to help

fund the attendance ofpostgraduate studentswishing to attend the 8thInternational Colloquiumon Squirrels which will take place at NUIGalway 4th to 8th June 2018. Thecolloquium, which takes place everythree years, brings together squirrelresearchers from around the world todiscuss all aspects of squirrel biologyincluding ecology, evolution, geneticsand conservation. “We are delighted tobe able to support this important event,particularly as it is being held at NUIGalway where ESI has alreadysupported work being done into theinteraction between squirrels and pinemartens”, George Farr ESI Chairman.

Page 12

In a press release issued at the timeESI stated, “while we welcome thegovernment’s support for farmers andlandowners in helping to create newwoodlands, this must go hand in handwith proper management and thismeans effective grey squirrel control. Ifthis does not happen then this projectwill fail and more taxpayers’ money willbe wasted”.“Already we have seen government

funding into new woodland creationwasted due to lack of support forconsistent and coordinated grey squirrelcontrol. It has been estimated that greysquirrel damage and the consequentialeconomic impact costs the UK forestryindustry many tens of millions of poundsper annum and more woodland creation will add to this bill unlesswoodland protection conditions areattached to payments to ensure that thenew woodland is established for thelong term”.

The announcement, by forestryMinister, Therese Coffey, stated thatfarmers, foresters and land managers willbe able to apply for up to £6800 perhectare to plant, weed and protect newwoodland as part of the next round ofthe governments Woodland Creationgrant. The fund, which is part of theCountryside Stewardship schemeamounts to £13m and aims to plantmore than 3 million trees.Grey squirrels are invasive aliens and

recognised by government as a pestspecies. They are now classified by arecent EU Regulation as a species whichgovernments have an obligation tocontrol. Recent figures released by theEU show that non-native species costthe members states in excess of £12bna year.ESI went on to say, “there is no doubt

that the government must honour itsobligations and insist on grey squirrelcontrol. Unless this happens, the trees

planted today will not grow to maturitytomorrow. In addition, timber quality willsuffer together with detrimental impactson our native flora and fauna. We cannotafford to throw money away andgovernment has an opportunity to putmeasures in place to ensure that wehave a healthy and vibrant forestry andwoodland sector throughout the UKwhich will benefit the environment andwider biodiversity in the future”.“2017 is the 30th anniversary of the

Great Storm of 1987. We must take noteof the fact that trees planted followingthat event are now at their mostvulnerable to damage by grey squirrels.Huge government support was given toencourage new planting but with norequirement to control grey squirrels.Unfortunately, the results of this can nowbe seen, with no hope that this large-scale new planting will ever be able tomatch which it was designed to replace.We must learn from our mistakes”.

Forestry Funding Wasted Without Grey Squirrel ControlGrey squirrel control must be one of the conditions fulfilled by applicants wishing to applyfor support under a new forestry funding programme announced by the government July.

The Grey SquirrelManagement Handbook

The Grey Squirrel Ecology & Management of an Invasive Species in Europe

I enclose a cheque for _______________________________________

Name_____________________________________________________

Address___________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Postcode__________________________________________________

Email:_____________________________________________________

Please make your cheque payable to: European Squirrel Initiative and post it with this form to: European Squirrel Initiative, 26 Rural Innovation Centre,Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire,CV8 2LG.(Your book(s) will be despatched within five working days)

If you have any queries about your order you can call us on +44 (0)2476 992360 or email us info@europeansquirrelinitiative.org

Order Form

The Grey Squirrel Management Handbook

By Charles Dutton

The Grey SquirrelEcology & Management of an Invasive Species in Europe

by Craig M. Shuttleworth

Qty.

£15.00 + £5.00 P&P per book

£30.00 + £6.00 P&P per book

Page 13

Ingredients:2 squirrels200g chorizo2 cloves of garlic250g butter beans250g chopped tomatoes½ Red onion100ml water2 tbsp Crushed chilli seedsTsp of smoked paprikaSalt and Pepper

Cut up the squirrels into five pieces,and brown off for no more than 1minute with plenty of cooking oil in ahot frying pan. Take the pieces out the

pan and allow to rest. Roughly chopthe onion and add it and the chorizoto the pan to brown for 5 minutes. Place the squirrel, onion and chorizo

into a suitable dish, adding thechopped tomatoes, water, smoked

paprika and garlic, and put into theoven (100ºC) or slow cooker (low).Cook for five hours adding the butterbeans and chilli seeds for the last hour.Serve with some warm bread and

butter.

Grey Squirrel on the Menu Recipes from Game to Eat

Slow-cookedSquirrel andChorizo Stew

SpatchcockBBQ SquirrelMarinade:2tbsp Maple syrup2 crushed cloves of Garlic1 tbsp whole grain Mustard3 sprigs of RosemaryDash of olive oilSalt and Pepper

To spatchcock the squirrel cutusing a pair of scissors up along therib cage to the neck, turn thesquirrel over and squash with thepalm of your hand so the squirrellies flat. Mix all the marinadetogether and rub into the squirrel.Place in the fridge for a minimum12 hours.

Light the BBQ and leave to gainfull heat, cook the squirrel for 5minutes on each side and allow 5minutes to rest.

The Tactical Art of Giving toMaximum Tax Efficient EffectWe are often invited to make a charitable bequest in support of our favourite charities inour Wills. That is attractive to us as it can be a large lump of money we no longer needfollowing our death and it attracts Inheritance Tax relief – who doesn’t like some tax relief?

We are often invited to make acharitable bequest in support of ourfavourite charities in our Wills. That isattractive to us as it can be a large lumpof money we no longer need followingour death and it attracts Inheritance Taxrelief – who doesn’t like some tax relief? The Government supports this giving

on death by not only granting IHT reliefon small gifts but also by cutting thestandard rate of Inheritance Tax to 36%if 10% or more of a taxable estate is leftto charity. Not everyone suffers Inheritance Tax

which may be why we hear more aboutmaking donations to our favouritecharities using “Gift Aid”. Donationsusing Gift Aid have the benefit ofsecuring more money for the charitythrough income tax relief for all UKincome tax payers, with further incometax relief given to higher rate taxpayers. Both methods of giving are well

recognised and understood. However,we are rarely invited to think aboutmaking a lifetime gift to our favouritecharities of the amount presentlyrecorded in our Will.

“Why do that? I hear you ask? Much more tax relief is my simple

answer.Imagine you were leaving £10,000 in

your Will to the European SquirrelInitiative. On your eventual death, whichmay be years away, such a gift wouldbe paid to the charity after probate is

granted on your estate, which would beafter your executors have settled yourInheritance Tax liability. That bill will havebeen reduced by £4,000 because of the£10,000 charitable bequest you havemade.Now imagine you could see in your

lifetime the benefits of the EuropeanSquirrel Initiative receiving your £10,000bequest today rather than years in thefuture when you die. If you were to pay out £8,000 today

and complete the Gift Aid form, thecharity will collect 25% (£2,000) fromHMRC and thus it receives that £10,000for its immediate projects. If you are ahigher rate payer you will get the furtherincome tax relief at 20% or 25% of yourdonation.Having made this gift to a charity in

your lifetime and having receivedincome tax relief, your remaining estateis now that much smaller and, were youto die, your executors have theimmediate benefit of a reduced IHT billon that smaller estate. You will have obtained much more tax

relief than you were expecting by merelyleaving a charitable bequest in your Will.

“..but cash flow is an issue in mylifetime” I hear you say “Once I amgone I am not worried about cashflow.”That is fair enough so then I ask if you

are one of many fortunate enough tohave some listed shares sitting there

producing a steady 2% per annum (on which you may be paying your higherrates of income tax) with the share valuemassively more than the original price? You don’t sell because you would have

to pay 20% Capital Gains Tax on theprofit but did you know that if you gave£10,000 worth of shares to ESI youcould get income tax relief at up to yourhighest rate on that £10,000 share gift? So, on shares worth £10,000 earning

you a taxable £200 per annum youcould cut your income tax bill by£2,000, £4,000 or, perhaps, £4,500depending on your top tax rate and,guess what? There is NO Capital GainsTax to pay on such a gift. Also, oncegifted, your estate is £10,000 smaller soyour executors get an eventualInheritance Tax reduction as well.There should always be a good

reason to wait until you die before givingmaterial support to your favouritecharities through a bequest in your Will. May I suggest it can be much more

personally rewarding to pay over your“bequest” in your lifetime so you cansee your gift being put to work on theprojects close to your heart. Yourexecutors may not be looking as closelyas you will.A lifetime “bequest” can be made in a

way that is even more tax efficient thanjust getting Inheritance Tax Relief.

Of course, you should get professional advice

before making any material gift to charity.

Donations

Page 14

I enclose a cheque donation for £_________________ payable to European Squirrel Initiative

Please treat as Gift Aid donations all qualifying gifts of money made (tick all boxes that you wish to apply)

today in the past 4 years in the future I confirm I have paid or will pay an amount of Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax for each tax year (6 April to 5 April) that is at leastequal to the amount of tax that all the charities or Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) that I donate to will reclaim on my giftsfor that tax year. I understand that other taxes such as VAT and Council Tax do not qualify. I understand the charity will reclaim 25p oftax on every £1 that I give.

Signature: _______________________________________ Date: ________/________/________Please notify the charity if you: Want to cancel this declaration. Change your name or home address. No longer pay sufficient tax onyour income and/or capital gains tax. If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to receive the additional tax reliefdue to you, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self Assessment tax return or ask HM Revenue and Customs to adjustyour tax code. If you are unsure whether your donations qualify for Gift Aid tax relief, ask your local tax office for leaflet IR65.

Title: __________________ Forename(s): ______________________________ Surname: ______________________________

Address: ________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________ PostCode: ______________________________

Email Address: __________________________________________________ Telephone: ______________________________

Please add me to the mailing list. I would like to receive future copies of Squirrel free of charge by email / by post. (Delete as necessary, email being the least expensive method of distribution for the charity)

Once completed please return to: 26 Rural Innovation Centre, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, CV8 2LG.www.europeansquirrelinitiative.org Registered Charity: England and Wales: 1105920 Scotland: SCO39806

This newsletter is written and distributed free of charge to anyone interested in squirrel issues.Please give generously to help us continue with our vital conservation work.

Make a Donation

Free Subscription

www.europeansquirrelinitiative.orgReg Charity: England and Wales: 1105920 Scotland: SCO39806

EUROPEAN INITIATIVECHRISTMAS CARD

ORDER

Please make your cheque payable to:European Squirrel Initiative and post it with thisform to: 26 Rural Innovation Centre,Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, CV8 2LG.(Your cards will be despatched within seven days)

If you have any queries about your order you can call us on

+44 (0)2476 992360 oremail us at info@europeansquirrelinitiative.org

The cards are available in packs of 10 and cost £3.50 per pack plus postage and packaging. Card size 171mm x 121mm

Postage and packing: 1-3 packs - add £2.79 4-6 packs - add £3.357-9 packs - add £3.95 10+ packs - add £5.75

Number of packs _______ £3.50 per pack (of 10) = £ _________

Plus Postage & Packaging (see below) £ _________

I enclose a cheque for £ _________

Name__________________________________________________

Address________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Post code ______________________________________________

Email:__________________________________________________