I was interested to read about the efforts being debated to conserve England’s embattled red squirrel population (‘On a knife edge’: can England’s red squirrel population be saved?, 6 February). In view of the inexorable spread of the greys across Great Britain, it was actually a surprise to learn there are still reds anywhere as central to the island as the Lake District. But it was also a disappointment to find that the article overlooked Welsh red squirrels entirely – despite the significant success of efforts to conserve them on Ynys Môn and the presence of a significant, genetically distinct population here in the Cambrian Mountains.
Reds are, as you mention, the most-missed threatened mammal species of Great Britain, so we cannot afford to ignore any of their few remaining fastnesses. Ideally, we would also be taking concrete steps to protect those places from further erosion of habitat or human disturbance.
Sadly, with the present dash to build renewable power stations anywhere that developers can find a landowner willing to sell, there are already two proposals to industrialise the hills above Llanddewi Brefi with turbines and solar, despite 24 years of the Mid Wales Red Squirrel Project’s work to bolster the population there. Is this perhaps yet another good example of the human preference for having your cake and eating it?
Lorna Brazell
Secretary, Cambrian Mountains Society
Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.