Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I too would like to thank Darren Millar for choosing this topic for his short debate, and Rhun ap Iorwerth for his contribution. I'm not going to get into an argument about who's who in species champions, but I think choughs would also be a good topic for a short debate. 

I, of course, recognise the importance of the red squirrel as an icon of our countryside, and, sadly, as a symbol of the loss of our biodiversity over the last half century. As evidenced by the 'State of Mammals' report, which I launched last week, a third of our native mammals are currently at risk of extinction in Wales, and that includes the continuing losses of many of our most iconic species, such as the red squirrel. However, local interventions have turned the tide in some locations, where local populations are recovering, using methods that are now becoming tried and tested. As referred to, the key threat to the red squirrel is a viral disease known as squirrelpox, and this does little harm to the non-native invasive grey squirrel, but is usually lethal to red squirrels. Grey squirrels can readily infect red squirrels where populations overlap. 

The natural habitat of red squirrels is Wales's native deciduous woodland. However, much of that is heavily populated now with grey squirrels. They damage trees making them more vulnerable to disease, and then are a serious threat to our native and commercial woodlands, reducing their ability to regenerate and their value as habitat, and also for timber. Plantations of non-native conifers favour red squirrels over grey, but these are detrimental to many other aspects of nature conservation, including the quality of water in our rivers fed from coniferous areas. The red squirrel population on Anglesey is recovering strongly, and individuals are now spreading on to the mainland of Wales, and also dispersing through Arfon. This is thanks largely to the efforts of the Squirrels Trust Wales, which has substantially eradicated grey squirrels from the largely coniferous Newborough forest on Ynys Môn and reinforced the residual red squirrels population by introducing captive-bred red squirrels from elsewhere. Following a range of operations on the mainland to control grey squirrels, red squirrels from Anglesey are now dispersing into the woods on the mainland. And further south, under the stewardship of the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, the mid Wales red squirrel population, which seemed close to extinction, has also stabilised and may be increasing.

The current three-year Healthy Reds project received just under £0.25 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and just under £50,000 from Welsh Government's landfill disposal tax community scheme to continue the aims of monitoring red squirrel populations and raising awareness. The Clocaenog Red Squirrels Trust is reinforcing low numbers in the forest by releasing captive-bred red squirrels. They're supported by the Welsh Mountain Zoo, and there is some early evidence that red squirrels from Clocaenog are dispersing into the wider landscape. Grey squirrel control is crucial for the health of both red squirrels and their native natural habitat. However, control operations are unpopular among some animal lovers, as they involve trapping and euthanising grey squirrels. Grey squirrels are not shot by conservation or major forestry organisations, but a number of individuals are known to use this method, mainly for timber protection. Pine martens are generalist apex predators that are known to reduce grey squirrel populations, and Vincent Wildlife Trust has successfully reintroduced a number of pine marten to mid Wales. The ensuing reduction of grey squirrel numbers may create opportunities for the red squirrel to naturally recolonise or be reintroduced. Further captive breeding of red squirrels was discussed at the last Wales squirrel forum, on 7 October. My officials encouraged Clocaenog Red Squirrels Trust and other members of the forum to draw up proposals, including identifying potential release sites further south, following the UK Squirrel Accord breeding and translocation protocol. Whilst no proposal has yet been received, I do understand it is in hand.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Welsh Government has continued to prioritise action to support the creation of resilient ecological networks that will benefit a range of species, as set out in the refreshed nature recovery action plan for Wales. This will provide more and better connected habitats, to support a diversity of wildlife, including red squirrels and other mammals. And we've launched a grant scheme, focused on actions to help restore our most important habitats, and the Natura 2000 network, which was established to ensure the long-term survival of our most threatened habitats and species. Our national forest programme will create and enhance woodlands across Wales, again helping to improve and join up woodland and other habitats. This will also enable the dispersal of red squirrels to new areas, and address issues of population and habitat fragmentation. However, we do need to do more to improve our evidence and understanding, and embed transformative action for biodiversity across all sectors. To help us with this, the recently established Natur am Byth partnership, which I'm supporting, will have a large-scale communications programme that will celebrate a wide range of rare and vulnerable species across Wales. However, it is notable that the project will not include the red squirrel in its list of around 70 target species because of the wealth of partnerships and initiatives, some of which we've heard about today, that are taking forward action for this species in Wales. Thank you.