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First Response from the Natural England Licensing Team
June 2024
Natural England has confirmed the following: -
Rescue Centres are allowed to keep grey squirrels for up to six weeks without a licence or permit.
Vets are not obliged to euthanise grey squirrels.
Royal Horticultural Society ("RHS") update
May 2024
The Royal Horticultural Society's ("RHS") website stated that grey squirrels that are trapped cannot legally be released. Grey Squirrel Protection UK contacted the RHS, stating that grey squirrels can legally be released where they are found, if they are trapped accidentally.
As a result, their website has now been updated to read "Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act you must not release purposefully trapped non-indigenous animals into the wild." This is only a small win, but we aim to chip away at all the disinformation and falsities circulating out there regarding the UK Grey Squirrel, and correct it, so that only factual information is available.
GOV.UK Natural England News
April 2024
The gov.uk website under states the following: -
"Rescue centres
"Rescue centres
If you run a rescue centre, you can keep a listed invasive alien animal for up to 6 weeks without a permit or licence.
If you want to keep a listed animal in a rescue centre for longer than 6 weeks, you’ll need to get a licence.
You must:
keep it in a contained holding
stop it from escaping or breeding
If the animal was a pet before it came to your rescue centre, it can be rehomed as a pet."
The vast majority of organisations are informing the public that grey squirrels cannot be released if they are trapped, and that they must be killed. This is false. If the squirrel is trapped (for example, in a bird feeder, on your property, or in netting in a park), free it. The law still permits freeing grey squirrels and releasing them where they were found. www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/wildlife/squirrels/injured
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