Can female grey squirrels be made sterile in an attempt to eradicate the invasive species?
The Roslin Institute in Edinburgh is spearheading a study to edit the genes of male squirrels to contain a gene-drive that, once the males are released, should quickly spread throughout the population and make future females sterile. The idea is that the spread of female infertility in the population will mean the population is unable to replace itself and be eliminated. The project, partly funded by the European Squirrel Initiative, is believed to be a humane way of reducing grey squirrel numbers, although opposition has come from animal rights campaigners and animal ethicists (The Scotsman, Express, The Times, Front Line Genomics).