Suspected squirrelpox case discovered in Dalbeattie's Barhill Wood

A suspected squirrelpox case has been discovered in Dalbeattie.

A poorly-looking red squirrel was recently found in Barhill Wood and was taken to the South of Scotland Wildlife Hospital at SRUC Barony near Dumfries.

It later died and is believed to have had squirrelpox, although the body was destroyed before it could be taken for a post mortem.

Squirrelpox is deadly to red squirrels but doesn’t affect greys which carry it.

And with a number of sightings of grey squirrels in Dalbeattie in recent weeks, it’s possible there will be more squirrelpox cases reported in the near future.

John Lind from the Solway Forests Red Squirrel Network said: “We had got on top of it for a while but there have been reports of greys and it’s getting to the time that they have their young again.

“The lockdown doesn’t help us as people don’t want us going into their woods to deal with them.”

People in the area are asked to remove their bird and squirrel feeders and clean them with an anti-viral disinfectant such as Virkon.

Sightings of grey squirrels and sick red squirrels can be reported to John on 07807226263 or by messaging email@johnlind20.plus.com.