Deads for Reds!

The 'war' between the UK supporters of the endangered, 'indigenous' Red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) and folk who tolerate the 'invasive' Grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) has been intensified with a call for 5000 volunteers (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/24/red-squirrels-5000-volunteers-sought-to-save-species-and-help-kill-invasive-greys). This 'Red squirrel army' would be asked to help monitor the 2  species and even assist (if they had no objections) with 'humane' destruction of the greys in a cull. The greys (introduced deliberately as novelties in Victorian times) generally out-compete the reds as they are bigger, not so picky in terms of diet and not so liable to die of squirrel pox. I personally think that it would be extremely difficult to eradicate the greys (with or without 'humane' techniques) but 'pest control' seems increasingly to be a feature of many 'conservation' attempts. This might well mean that the 'red army' would never be demobilised. One might also suggest that some of the existing, limited populations of persisting reds show signs of poor genetic diversity. This might well require moving stocks of reds around (perhaps even getting new stock from the continent) but that can also generate problems.