Following your excellent article on the proposed deer cull at the National Trust’s Cotehele estate may I beg to differ with the Trust’s opinion that the deer are “the biggest threat to woodland in the UK”.

That is untrue, deer certainly cause damage and where necessary should be controlled. 

The biggest threat to woodland is the grey squirrel which strips the bark from trees, removes the new growth in the spring, they eat nestlings and steal eggs from nests but worst of all they carry and pass on Squirrel Pox Virus Disease that unfortunately does not effect the greys but kills the reds. 

A programme of control is drastically needed before our native red squirrel is lost for ever.

Paul Carne

Harrowbarrow