Red squirrel sickness reports in Tweeddale under investigation

Tests are being carried out to try to establish the cause of sickness in a number of red squirrels that have been spotted in the Scottish Borders.

So far six reports have been made in the Venlaw area outside Peebles, as well as one in nearby Drumzelier.

One dead squirrel has been recovered and it is being tested in Edinburgh to establish if it was a case of squirrelpox – a disease carried by greys but deadly to reds.

Allan Johnstone, from the Tweeddale Red Squirrel Network, said it was a “terrible disease” which had similar effects on squirrels to myxomatosis in rabbits.