A PLEA to save the red squirrel yesterday provoked a suggestion to help kill off their grey cousins - put them on school menus.

Earl Peel, who lives at Masham, North Yorkshire, led a House of Lords debate to demand a mass cull of greys to protect the native red from the threat of extinction.

The Tory peer criticised ministers for their "reluctance" to eradicate the grey, despite it confining reds to only a few areas of Britain, including Kielder Forest, in Northumberland, and the Lake District.

Instead, Earl Peel protested, the owner of a dog that killed a grey squirrel could be fined up to £5,000.

The peer said: "There has been a reluctance by the Government, by the Forestry Commission, and indeed others, to come to grips with the problem.

"The notion of killing and controlling one species, even an alien, to protect another, remains anathema to some. Yet it remains an essential part of wildlife management."

Grey squirrels, introduced from North America in the 19th Century, number about two million. In contrast, there are only about 160,000 reds.

The greys are largely responsible for the decline of the red squirrel because they are stronger, more adaptable, and carry the squirrelpox virus - which is lethal to reds.

But ministers have ruled out a mass cull of greys, favouring limited killing where they are damaging woodland and threatening the numbers of reds.

Yesterday, Lord Bach, a junior environment minister, blamed limited resources and a lack of support from the public, which liked to see greys.

But fellow Conservative peer Lord Inglewood, from Cumbria, suggested to the Lords: "What about celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver promoting them for school dinners?

"I must confess that I have never actually eaten a grey squirrel - but I am prepared to give it a go."