Save our Red Squirrels!

Aim

We are aiming to preserve genetics from our amazing red squirrel population to support breeding programmes and prevent their decline.

We’re Nature’s SAFE, the living biobank in the UK, set-up as a safeguard for our planet’s wildlife; we are helping to save animals from extinction.

You have helped us save our hedgehog - we are still gathering priceless samples to ensure we can safeguard their future, and we are now looking at saving our Red Squirrels, but we need your help. 

Once widespread across the country, our red squirrel population has fallen by more than 90% in just over a century. Now, fewer than 287,000 individuals remain, mostly confined to isolated strongholds in Scotland, Northern England, and parts of Wales.

The rapid spread of the non-native grey squirrel, loss of habitat, and squirrelpox virus have meant the Red Squirrel is dealing with threats from every angle. Without urgent intervention, the red squirrel could disappear from our landscapes within our lifetime.

At Nature’s SAFE, we are determined to not let that happen. By working alongside conservation partners who are doing amazing work in the field, and through breeding programmes to bolster wild populations, we are gathering squirrel genetics and preserving them in a living state. This gives us genetic material that can be used to support breeding programmes and enable re-introductions, with the aim of boosting population size. 

This campaign will fund the cryopreservation of living cells and reproductive material from red squirrels across multiple UK populations, enabling us to secure their genetic blueprint and help prevent them from extinction. 

This project closed unsuccessfully on 4th November 2025