Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference

The American grey squirrel, imported to Italy in 1948, represents a threat to the indigenous red squirrel, and an eradication of the alien species has been asked by several national and international organizations. In 1997, the National Wildlife Institute started an experimental eradication in the Racconigi Park (northwest Italy), aimed to evaluate the reliability and efficiency of humane removal techniques, through live-trapping, anaesthesia, and subsequent euthanasia of squirrels. The program, supported by most NGOs, was strongly opposed by radical animal right groups, who took the author and the director of the National Wildlife Institute to court, causing a halt of any activity. The species has expanded since then, and an eradication is no longer considered feasible. A colonization of the entire Alps in the middle term and of a large part of Europe in the long term is predicted, potentially threatening the survival of the red squirrel in the continent.