I have edited my post because it didn't make sense, the pox killed the reds not the greys, stupid me, read before you post Tiff.
The conservationists cull the greys in the areas we still have red squirrels.
Borders don't matter to the greys, they will sneak in if they can & they have, but Brownsea remains grey free, sadly it's a battle to stop hem getting into other areas not surrounded by sea. Though to eradicate them now they are here, in areas without reds, seems barbaric.

Very pleased to say we have only red squirrels and if anyone is found trying to bring a grey over here (though no idea why they would), they be very heavily fined.

UK is surrounded by sea Tiff? Could we use that as a start and work
from there? It sounds like a good case for gene editing?
You sound like you are doing a good job in Hayling island, keep it
up! We could use you as a base for re-establishing the reds once we
have edited the greys out of the equation?
Regards Donkeyman!

It was the greys that gave the reds squirrel pox, greys carry it but don't get ill, the pox killed most of the reds in the areas they were before,which is why people want to get rid of the greys. The greys are in most every area of Britain, the reds only in a few places now & this is because the conservationists keep the greys out where the reds are, but getting rid of greys won't necessarily mean the reds make a come back everywhere they were before.
I have seen reds on Brownsea island, they are beautiful animals, there are no greys there, it's an island & if one does try to get there it is immediately culled.

We don’t need to kill to conserve

We need to show a bit more respect to this highly successful species and there are alternative options to culling. We could start by managing forests to favour conifers (which reds prefer) over deciduous trees (the grey’s favourite).

The resurgence of the native pine marten could also swing the balance in favour of reds over greys. A conservation success story in itself, these ferret-like predators were recently spotted in England for the first time in more than a century. In areas of Ireland where pine martens are thriving, grey squirrels have almost disappeared, allowing reds to reestablish themselves.

Some would describe the grey squirrel as criminal. Others would describe the way they are treated by humans as criminal.

http://theconversation.com/in-defenc...-invader-73983

The resurgence of the native pine marten could also swing the balance in favour of reds over greys. A conservation success story in itself, these ferret-like predators were recently spotted in England for the first time in more than a century. In areas of Ireland where pine martens are thriving, grey squirrels have almost disappeared, allowing reds to reestablish themselves.

As long as pine martens don't threaten the reds let the predators have a field day with the greys .....

The grey squirrel is not so different from the red. How would we feel if we were to trap, poison and shoot the red squirrel? Greys did not come over here of their own accord and did not ask to be introduced. Neither do they have any control over the pox that they carry. They do what they do; which is to be grey squirrels. In response, what we do, is kill them by the tens of thousands, year after year. The killing is “humane” – but how free of pain and suffering is it for the squirrels? We poison them. We trap them. We shoot them. We bludgeon them to death.

How many dead greys is a live red worth? The success of this sustained massacre is debatable. Nobody seriously believes that the grey squirrel could be exterminated in the UK. A report by Stephen Harris and colleagues at the University of Bristol concluded that culling greys to save reds is neither viable nor economic. Harris has instead suggested that we should move the reds to protected islands and let nature take its course on the mainland. We could save ourselves a lot of time, money and effort by not persecuting grey squirrels.

I must say the thought of killing anything by barbarous methods such as poison is anathema to anyone with any compassion for sentient beings.
If this gene therapy helps reduce their numbers it would appear to be a fairly humane way of control.