Beyond LIFE funding, the grey squirrel is listed as an invasive alien species of “Union concern” and is treated as a target for control or eradication in several member states. In the Netherlands, for example, possession and trade in grey squirrels has been banned since 2016, and national policy frames them as a threat to red squirrels and native biodiversity.³ 

At the same time, other species with powerful economic lobbies have been treated very differently. During the negotiations on the EU Invasive Alien Species Regulation, Denmark lobbied hard to keep American mink off the invasive list, in order to protect its mink-fur industry.⁴ Member states then pushed through derogations and exceptions for “species of economic importance”, creating loopholes that directly benefited mink farmers.⁵

Similarly, Sweden asked the EU to list the North American (American) lobster as an invasive species and to ban imports of live animals, citing disease risks and the presence of escaped lobsters in European waters.⁶ The United States and Canada opposed the move, arguing the lobster did not meet the criteria for an invasive species and would not threaten European stocks, and an EU committee ultimately rejected the proposed ban.⁷ This is a clear example of how trade and political pressure can override invasive-species concerns. 

These cases show that the so-called “science-based” invasive species list is in practice highly political and selective. When economically important animals like mink or American lobster are involved, intense lobbying can secure exemptions or prevent listing altogether.⁴⁵⁷ Just as special treatment was carved out for those species, we argue that grey squirrels deserve a reprieve too — not because they are economically valuable, but because they are sentient animals who were brought here by humans and are now being blamed and killed for our decisions. 

The EU Invasive Alien Species Regulation (Regulation (EU) 1143/2014) came into force in 2015 and was applied in the UK while it was still an EU member.⁸ The UK then enacted this regime domestically through the Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019, which came into force on 1 December 2019.⁹ That Order still governs grey squirrel licensing and offences in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, even though the UK has since left the EU.⁹ 

We argue that, now the UK is no longer in the EU, this 2019 Order should be scrapped or fundamentally rewritten, and that Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 should likewise be re-opened and reformed so that grey squirrels in Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands are no longer legally framed as “alien” targets to be eradicated. 

If you compile a list of “invasive species”, you either apply the rules consistently or you do not. What you cannot do, in any fair system, is to:

• maintain a rigid legal framework for some species (like grey squirrels),
  
  

• while quietly granting exemptions or blocking listings for others (like mink and American lobsters) after intense behind-the-scenes lobbying.⁴⁵⁷

That is not consistent environmental policy – it is political bargaining over which animals live and which animals die.