Trials testing a bait hopper equipped with a PIT-tag reader and bait weighing device, to record bait uptake by individual grey squirrels

The aim of this study was to design and test a novel bait hopper equipped with a PIT-tag reader and bait weighing device, to record bait uptake by individual grey squirrels for optimising the delivery of a contraceptive bait. The hopper was tested in a laboratory, in a trial using captive grey squirrels and then used to collect data on the feeding behaviour of free-living grey squirrels in two woods.