English: But being a species champion is something that I've taken very seriously and, for me at least, it really has awakened a genuine interest in the plight of Welsh wildlife. Globally, the conservation status of the Eurasian red squirrel is 'least concern' but, of course, this is not the case here in Wales, because the red squirrel is thriving elsewhere across Europe - in fact, as far west as Spain, and all the way across to Siberia in the east - but here in Wales the red squirrel has been under threat for over a century. As the only native squirrel species in Wales, the red squirrel is an iconic symbol of Welsh wildlife and our natural heritage. For over 10,000 years, red squirrels have populated the vast majority of the British isles. As recently as 1945, the red squirrel was the primary and dominant squirrel species in Britain, including here in Wales, yet today that squirrel population has been decimated, and there are two primary reasons for this alarming decline: habitat loss and the arrival of the grey squirrel into Britain in the 1800s. There are records of releases, most of which were from private or pet collections, dating as far back as 1828, when one single squirrel was apparently released near Llantysilio Hall in Denbighshire. There is also a record of five squirrels from Woburn being released in Wrexham in 1903, and a number from London Zoo being released in Aberdare in 1922. And from these small beginnings, red squirrels rapidly lost ground to their larger, more aggressive American cousins, as they simply could not compete for habitat or food. And on top of this, the grey squirrels brought disease - squirrel pox. This relatively harmless disease to greys, which had built up immunity over tens of thousands of years, proved to be devastating and deadly to our native reds, which have no natural immunity to the virus, and it has killed many. It's no wonder, then, that the colonisation of Wales by the grey squirrel was largely complete by the 1980s. Incredibly, populations of red squirrel in Britain have fallen from an estimated high of 3.5 million to a current estimated population of just 120,000. As we approached the end of the millennium, the only squirrels that remained in Wales were confined to just three places. Fewer than 50 survived on Anglesey, a few hundred remained in Denbighshire and a few hundred had beaten the odds in mid Wales, too. By the late 1990s, these population centres were deemed to be at significant risk, and the future for the red squirrel was undeniably bleak. But it's not all doom and gloom. In 1998, the fightback began. The initial conservation efforts were started in Anglesey. They were led by Menter Môn with EU funding and later landfill tax grants. And Ynys Môn may very well be the most encouraging success story for any conservationist looking the turn the tide of species decline. When those conservation efforts on Anglesey began, just around 40 squirrels were left on the island, but due to the leadership of Craig Shuttleworth and the Red Squirrels Trust Wales, these efforts have paid dividends. Together, today, there are around 800 of our red squirrel friends on that island alone, and the population is so large that a number of red squirrels have even escaped Anglesey, crossing the Menai straits, to form a small population in the Bangor area. By 2013, all grey squirrels were removed from the island, and by 2015 it was declared to be a grey-squirrel-free zone. However, as with any conservation effort, there have been some setbacks. In the last five years, seven grey squirrels have been caught on the island, and had those squirrels not been caught by the dedicated conservationists, their efforts to protect our furry friends would have been undone. I'm proud to be able to say that my own constituency is also home to one of the three refuges for red squirrels in Wales. In the late 1990s, the Clocaenog forest in Denbighshire appeared to be the home of what was the largest population of red squirrels in the country. But by 2011, it became quite clear that the numbers had declined significantly as a result of a growing population of grey squirrels in the area. It was clear that the red squirrels in the Clocaenog forest were under threat and that something had to be done.
Welsh: Ond mae bod yn hyrwyddwr rhywogaethau yn rhywbeth rwyf wedi bod o ddifrif yn ei gylch, ac i mi o leiaf, mae wedi cynnau diddordeb gwirioneddol yn nhrafferthion bywyd gwyllt Cymru. Yn fyd-eang, statws cadwraeth gwiwerod coch Ewrasiaidd yw 'dan ddim bygythiad' ond wrth gwrs, nid yw hyn yn wir yma yng Nghymru, oherwydd mae'r wiwer goch yn ffynnu mewn mannau eraill ledled Ewrop - mewn gwirionedd, mor bell i'r gorllewin â Sbaen, a'r holl ffordd draw i Siberia yn y dwyrain - ond yma yng Nghymru mae'r wiwer goch wedi bod dan fygythiad ers dros ganrif. Fel yr unig rywogaeth o wiwer frodorol yng Nghymru, mae'r wiwer goch yn symbol eiconig o fywyd gwyllt Cymru a'n treftadaeth naturiol. Ers dros 10,000 o flynyddoedd, mae gwiwerod coch wedi poblogi'r mwyafrif llethol o ynysoedd Prydain. Mor ddiweddar â 1945, y wiwer goch oedd y rhywogaeth fwyaf ac amlycaf o wiwerod ym Mhrydain, gan gynnwys yma yng Nghymru, ac eto heddiw mae poblogaeth y wiwer wedi gostwng yn eithafol, ac mae dau brif reswm dros y dirywiad dychrynllyd hwn: colli cynefin a dyfodiad y wiwer lwyd i Brydain yn y 1800au. Ceir cofnodion ohonynt yn cael eu rhyddhau, gyda'r rhan fwyaf ohonynt o gasgliadau preifat neu anifeiliaid anwes, yn dyddio mor bell yn ôl â 1828, pan ryddhawyd un wiwer, mae'n debyg, ger Neuadd Llantysilio yn Sir Ddinbych. Mae cofnod hefyd o bum gwiwer o Woburn yn cael eu rhyddhau yn Wrecsam yn 1903, a nifer o Sw Llundain yn cael eu rhyddhau yn Aberdâr yn 1922. Ac o'r dechreuadau bach hyn, collodd gwiwerod coch dir yn gyflym i'w cefndryd Americanaidd mwy o faint a mwy ymosodol, gan na allent gystadlu am gynefin na bwyd. Ac ar ben hyn, daeth y gwiwerod llwyd â chlefyd - brech y wiwer. Profodd y clefyd cymharol ddiniwed hwn i wiwerod llwyd, a oedd wedi magu imiwnedd dros ddegau o filoedd o flynyddoedd, yn ddinistriol ac yn angheuol i'n gwiwerod coch brodorol, nad oes ganddynt imiwnedd naturiol i'r feirws, ac mae wedi lladd llawer. Nid yw'n syndod, felly, fod y wiwer lwyd wedi cytrefu yng Nghymru i raddau helaeth erbyn y 1980au. Yn anhygoel, mae poblogaethau'r wiwer goch ym Mhrydain wedi gostwng o tua 3.5 miliwn i boblogaeth gyfredol amcangyfrifedig o ddim ond 120,000. Wrth inni nesáu at ddiwedd y mileniwm, roedd yr unig wiwerod coch a oedd ar ôl yng Nghymru wedi'u cyfyngu i dri lle yn unig. Llwyddodd llai na 50 i oroesi ar Ynys Môn, roedd rhai cannoedd ar ôl yn Sir Ddinbych ac roedd rhai cannoedd wedi goroesi yn groes i'r disgwyl yng nghanolbarth Cymru hefyd. Erbyn diwedd y 1990au, bernid bod y canolfannau poblogaeth hyn mewn perygl sylweddol, a heb amheuaeth roedd dyfodol y wiwer goch yn llwm. Ond mae rhywfaint o obaith. Yn 1998, dechreuodd y frwydr i'w chael yn ôl. Dechreuwyd yr ymdrechion cadwraeth cychwynnol ar Ynys Môn. Cawsant eu harwain gan Menter Môn gyda chyllid yr UE a grantiau treth tirlenwi yn ddiweddarach. Ac mae'n ddigon posibl mai Ynys Môn yw'r llwyddiant mwyaf calonogol i unrhyw gadwraethwr sy'n edrych ar droi'r llanw yn achos rhywogaethau sy'n dirywio. Pan ddechreuodd yr ymdrechion cadwraeth ar Ynys Môn, dim ond tua 40 o wiwerod oedd ar ôl ar yr ynys, ond oherwydd arweinyddiaeth Craig Shuttleworth ac Ymddiriedolaeth Gwiwerod Coch Cymru, mae'r ymdrechion hyn wedi talu ar eu canfed. Gyda'i gilydd, heddiw, mae tua 800 o wiwerod coch ar yr ynys honno'n unig, ac mae'r boblogaeth mor fawr fel bod nifer o wiwerod coch wedi dianc o Ynys Môn hyd yn oed, gan groesi afon Menai, i ffurfio poblogaeth fechan yn ardal Bangor. Erbyn 2013, roedd yr holl wiwerod llwyd wedi cael eu symud o'r ynys, ac erbyn 2015 datganwyd ei fod yn barth di-wiwer lwyd. Fodd bynnag, fel gydag unrhyw ymdrech gadwraeth, cafwyd rhai methiannau. Yn ystod y pum mlynedd diwethaf, mae saith gwiwer lwyd wedi'u dal ar yr ynys, a phe na bai'r gwiwerod hynny wedi'u dal gan y cadwraethwyr ymroddedig, byddai eu hymdrechion i amddiffyn ein cyfeillion blewog wedi cael eu difetha. Rwy'n falch o allu dweud bod fy etholaeth i hefyd yn gartref i un o'r tair lloches ar gyfer gwiwerod coch yng Nghymru. Ar ddiwedd y 1990au, roedd coedwig Clocaenog yn Sir Ddinbych i'w gweld yn gartref i'r boblogaeth fwyaf o wiwerod coch yn y wlad. Ond erbyn 2011, daeth yn eithaf clir fod y niferoedd wedi gostwng yn sylweddol o ganlyniad i boblogaeth gynyddol o wiwerod llwyd yn yr ardal. Roedd yn amlwg fod y wiwer goch yng nghoedwig Clocaenog dan fygythiad a bod rhaid gwneud rhywbeth.