Releasing Mutant Grey Squirrels Into Wild to Spread Infertility Could Tackle Burgeoning Population
Scientists are considering releasing genetically modified grey squirrels that spread infertility to control invasive populations. Mad science or necessary intervention? Depends who you ask.
Grey squirrels in the UK have decimated native red squirrel populations. Traditional control methods havent worked. Gene drives that spread infertility offer a new approach.
The Guardian reported on the research and the ethical debates surrounding it.
Gene drives work by ensuring a genetic trait passes to nearly all offspring rather than the normal 50 percent. A sterility gene could theoretically spread through a population causing collapse.
Scientific interventions in natural systems carry unintended consequence risks. Once released gene drives cant be recalled.
The red squirrel situation is genuinely dire. Greys outcompete them for resources and carry diseases that reds cant survive. Without intervention reds might disappear entirely from Britain.
Releasing modified organisms into the wild crosses a line some scientists wont cross. Others argue the current situation is already unnatural since greys were introduced by humans.
Years of research and regulatory approval would be needed before any release. The proposal remains theoretical but the conversation has started.
Research discussed 2021
