Shocking new interactive map lays bare the long-term decline of Britain’s native red squirrel as government-backed report warns of extinction on mainland England within a generation. Save Our Reds campaign, backed by over 75,000 people, urges urgent and coordinated action.

A new interactive map revealing the long-term decline of red squirrels across Britain has been launched by the Save Our Reds campaign, as a government-backed report warns the species could disappear from mainland England within 25 years.

The map, now live at saveourreds.netlify.app, traces the retreat of Britain’s only native squirrel from across the country, laying bare just how little habitat remains where reds can survive. It has been released as the grassroots campaign, backed by over 75,000 people, calls for an urgent, coordinated national plan.

The extinction warning comes from Natural England’s Red Squirrel Recovery Strategy, published on 14 April 2026, which concludes that under a “do nothing” scenario, red squirrels face extinction across mainland England within a generation.

Read the Natural England report here: https://naturalengland.blog.gov.uk/2026/04/14/england-red-squirrel-recovery-strategy/

Following recent national coverage on Sky News, the Save Our Reds campaign, founded by North Pennines based journalist and campaigner Marie Carter-Robb, is urging government, conservation bodies, landowners and scientists to come together around one joined-up plan before it is too late.

Marie Carter-Robb said:

“The map is shocking. It makes the reality impossible to ignore. This is not theoretical. Without action, we will lose our red squirrels.

“We don’t have a single-solution problem. We have a series of urgent actions that need to be brought together into one joined-up national plan.

“At the moment, these efforts are fragmented. Otherwise, we are simply managing decline.”

Red squirrels were once counted in their millions across Britain. Today, there are estimated to be just 140,000–160,000 red squirrels left across the UK, with as few as 15,000 in England, compared with around 2.7 million grey squirrels.

Grey squirrels outcompete reds for food and habitat and carry squirrelpox, a virus that is usually harmless to greys but often fatal to reds. Habitat loss and weak enforcement of existing protections continue alongside these pressures.

The campaign is calling for a practical national plan built around:

• Coordinated, properly funded ranger capacity on the ground
• Humane management of grey squirrel populations in red squirrel areas
• Urgent investment in squirrelpox vaccine development
• Support for fertility control research and deployment
• Protection and enforcement of red squirrel habitat
• Stronger support for landowners and volunteers in key strongholds

Marie added:

“Volunteers and local groups are doing extraordinary work, but they cannot be expected to hold the line alone.

“We need government, conservation bodies, landowners, scientists and campaigners around the same table. The tools exist or are being developed. What is missing is coordination, funding and urgency.”

Filmmaker and red squirrel advocate Terry Abraham, whose BBC documentary Cumbria’s Red Squirrels helped bring the issue to a national audience, said:

“Our native red squirrels really ought to be the ambassadors of nature conservation within the UK.

“As many of us know, us humans have caused lots of harm to nature within our beautiful and renowned green isles and just as we have caused issues, we must now seek to address it. And that includes our precious native flora and fauna-of which our delightful and cute native red scamps are a part of.”

Sue Fowler, a County Durham-based conservationist, added:

“Without local eyes on the ground, many red squirrel habitats would be lost without anyone noticing. Volunteers are doing everything we can-but we need proper policy and protections in place before it’s too late.”

The campaign argues that while it is illegal to kill a red squirrel, habitat destruction in areas known to support them continues with too little scrutiny, too little enforcement and too little political urgency.

Save Our Reds Day-15 May 2026

The Save Our Reds campaign is also launching Britain’s first Save Our Reds Day on Friday 15 May 2026, aligned with Endangered Species Day, to bring the red squirrel crisis into sharper national focus.

Marie said:

“This is not about losing a colour. We are losing a native species.

“Red squirrels are part of Britain’s ecological and cultural inheritance. They belong in our woods, in our folklore and in our future.

“Save Our Reds Day is about making sure people understand the truth, and that we act before it is too late.”

The campaign’s main petition can be signed at: change.org/save-our-reds

The interactive decline map can be viewed at: saveourreds.netlify.app