New national awareness day launched as Save Our Reds petition nears 75,000 signatures
Britain’s first Save Our Reds Day will take place on Friday 15 May 2026, launching a new national awareness day focused on protecting Britain’s remaining native red squirrels.
The annual event, announced by journalist, author and campaigner Marie Carter-Robb, founder of the Save Our Reds campaign, will take place on the third Friday in May each year, aligning with Endangered Species Day.
The launch comes as public backing for the campaign continues to grow, with the Save Our Reds petition now approaching 75,000 signatures. Full details of the campaign and petition can be found at saveourreds.uk.
At the heart of the new awareness day is a striking fact that challenges one of the biggest public misconceptions about Britain’s squirrel crisis: horses and donkeys are more closely related than red and grey squirrels. They can produce a mule. Red and grey squirrels cannot breed together at all.
“This is not about losing a colour,” said Marie Carter-Robb.
“We are losing a native species.
“Too many people still assume red and grey squirrels are simply different versions of the same animal. They are not.
“The grey squirrel is an invasive species introduced to Britain in the Victorian era, and its spread has played a devastating role in the collapse of our native reds.
“That is exactly why we need Save Our Reds Day: to raise awareness, correct misunderstandings, and build stronger support for protecting red squirrel habitat before it is too late.”
As well as almost 75,000 signatures, since launching last August, the campaign has attracted the backing of conservationists and MPs, among many others, and continues to build national momentum.
Michelle Scrogham, MP for Barrow and Furness, an area where red squirrel numbers are in decline, said:
“Red squirrels are one of Britain’s most iconic native species, yet their survival is increasingly under threat from habitat loss and inconsistent protection.
“What this campaign makes clear is that we already have many of the tools we need – including biodiversity commitments such as the 20% woodland set-aside – but they must be properly enforced if they are to make a real difference.
“Alongside emerging approaches such as disease mitigation and fertility control, we now need practical, joined-up action to protect and restore red squirrel habitats.
“I am pleased to support Save Our Reds Day and the growing public call to secure a future for this much-loved species.”
Red squirrels were once widespread across Britain, with a population of around 3.5 million in 1900. Today, only around 120,000 to 150,000 remain in the UK, compared with an estimated 2.7 million grey squirrels.
As grey squirrels have spread, red squirrels have been pushed into shrinking strongholds in northern England, Scotland and a handful of island refuges. Grey squirrels outcompete reds for food and habitat and also carry squirrelpox, a virus that is harmless to greys but often fatal to reds.
Terry Abraham, filmmaker and red squirrel advocate, 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.”
Without greater awareness and intervention, conservationists warn that red squirrels could disappear from much of England within a generation.
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.”
Save Our Reds Day has been launched as part of the wider Save Our Reds movement, which also includes the newly established Save Our Reds CIC. While still in its early stages, the CIC is intended to support future awareness, education and conservation activity linked to the campaign.
The campaign argues that while it is illegal to kill a red squirrel, habitat destruction in areas known to support them can still continue with too little scrutiny, too little enforcement and too little political urgency.
Save Our Reds Day aims to bring the plight of Britain’s red squirrels into the national conversation through media coverage, public engagement, schools, community action and growing political awareness.
Carter-Robb added:
“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. This is not a harmless change in colour. Britain is at risk of losing one of its most iconic native mammals altogether.”
Carter-Robb is also the author of Little Red: Warrior Squirrel, a children’s book designed to help younger readers connect with the red squirrel’s story and why it matters.
To sign the petition and find out more about the campaign, visit: saveourreds.uk