As someone who has been a donor to the Scottish SPCA for 40 years, I was horrified to learn from the BBC Scotland TV documentary series "Born To Be Wild", that, as the National Wildlife Centre catered for five baby squirrels, were they found to be grey they would be humanely destroyed.

The anguish this caused was evident. However, the SSPCA had denied this policy repeatedly in a long correspondence with me for many years.

Up till this point, the documentary had been heartwarming, focussing on the 24/7 care of the staff for a variety of orphaned animals, birds and mammals.

The SSPCA have now clarified that the UK Government classifies the grey squirrel as "vermin" and, if the SSPCA were to care for one and free it, they would be liable for a £20,000 fine. This is intolerable.

It is time we wrote to our local MP.

The reason given was that the greys are non native. Greys were introduced to Scotland in 1876 but the red is not native either. It was introduced here from Scandinavia in 1793.

The grey is a lovely, sentient mammal and many children have learned to care for pet animals as they tended to a tame grey at the kitchen door.

Feeding the greys in Dunfermline Glen has long been a joy.

There are areas of Scotland where greys and reds live beside each other.

Furthermore, recent studies have shown many reds are immune to the ghastly squirrel pox, which is where the Roslin Institute should be directing its resources.

The decline of reds has got far more to do with the decline of coniferous woodland outwith Scotland and the increase of deciduous trees.

The habitat of the red has been destroyed by agriculture, housing and industrial use. They are arboreal feeders.

Greys have adapted to foraging on the ground for unripe seeds, for example, which reds will not touch.

The SSPCA has long been Scotland's pre-eminent animal sanctuary and I regret they have been shown in a bad light due to the straitjacket of Westminster legislation.

John V Lloyd Inverkeithing