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Local Life - Communities around Europe: Episode 5

Fabian ChristAugust 18, 2011

The residents of Cushendall in Northern Ireland are united against a common enemy: the grey squirrel. The North American rodents are threatening the native population of red squirrels. They are larger and tougher than their red cousins; they eat their food and can carry a pox virus that is fatal to red squirrels. Efforts are underway across the country to preserve the red squirrels, that are now in a clear minority. But those efforts are surely nowhere as dedicated as in Cushendall, where half the village is out setting traps or pursuing the grey squirrels with rifles.

https://p.dw.com/p/RgYT
The residents of Cushendall in Northern Ireland are united against a common enemy: the grey squirrel. The North American rodents are threatening the native population of red squirrels. They are larger and tougher than their red cousins; they eat their food and can carry a pox virus that is fatal to red squirrels. Efforts are underway across the country to preserve the red squirrels, that are now in a clear minority. But those efforts are surely nowhere as dedicated as in Cushendall, where half the village is out setting traps or pursuing the grey squirrels with rifles.