Seal Deaths in the North Sea (Hansard, 11 October 1988)

The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (The Earl of Caithness)
My Lords, the cause of the current epidemic of seal deaths in the North Sea is a natural virus. Her Majesty's Government have no control over the outbreak of natural viruses among populations of wild animals. However, what we are doing is to commission research to clarify whether pollution has a significant effect on the health of seals and their immune system and to keep under consideration whether there are practicable conservation measures which we can take to alleviate the impact of the epidemic on the affected seal populations.

Lord Campbell of Croy
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that reply. Can he confirm the reports that about 10,000 seals died on the east side of the North Sea before the epidemic reached the British coast? However, I realise that those reports came from other countries, for which Her Majesty's Government are not responsible. Can my noble friend also confirm that some form of pollution has caused the seals to lose immunity?

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, I cannot confirm my noble friend's figures, but I can tell the House that the deaths since April in the eastern North Sea now amount to about 13,000 and deaths reported in the UK since August are about 2,000. The immune system of seals is one of the items of research that we are undertaking at the moment.

§ Baroness Strange
My Lords, is my noble friend the Minister aware that a Dutch vessel containing chemicals sank in the North Sea and that the chemicals may possibly have affected the immune system of the seals?

The Earl of Caithness
No, my Lords. However, I know that the Dutch are carefully monitoring the situation and are also undertaking extensive research. This is an area of research where the work of one country is obviously not enough. All the countries around the North Sea must take part.

§ Baroness Nicol
My Lords, would this not be a good moment for the Government to implement Section 3 of the Conservation of Seals Act 1970 716 which would prohibit the shooting of seals, at least until we know the extent of the damage caused by the present epidemic? Would it not also be a good time for the Government to implement, without further waiting, a ban on the 129 chemicals which are on the EC black list and which are polluting the North Sea? Even though the chemicals may not themselves directly cause the difficulty, we are told that they are reducing the seal's resistance to any virus that may be about.

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, the Conservation of Seals Act is kept under review by my right honourable friends the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Scotland. They are looking at the Act at the moment and considering in particular whether Section 3 should be implemented. As regards the nasty chemicals that flow from rivers into the sea, as the noble Baroness will know, 80 per cent. of these come from the European mainland countries. That is why we, together with our European neighbours, agreed to certain points at the North Sea conference in November of last year in order to reduce the number of those chemicals.

§ Lord Cledwyn of Penrhos
My Lords, what did the noble Earl mean when he said that his right honourable friends were looking at Section 3 of the Act? As a result of the seal losses due to the natural virus to which he referred and the lack of evidence manifest in his reply concerning pollution and the virus, why cannot the Government stop the shooting of seals, as my noble friend suggested, if only for the period that the inquiries are going on?

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, I understand that no general licences for culling seals have been issued in recent years. This is a matter that will be carefully looked at by my right honourable friends.

§ The Earl of Kimberley
My Lords, can my noble friend say how far round Scotland the North Sea extends? Does it extend round to the top side of Scotland where there are a lot of seal colonies? Have many seals died on the north coast of Scotland?

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, I know that when I was in Caithness earlier this summer some dead seals were found, but it was not known at that time whether the deaths resulted from the virus. As far as I understand, the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea meet up there in one of the nicest counties in this country.

§ Baroness Nicol
My Lords, I am sorry to press the Minister, but my understanding of Section 3 is that it is not a case of a general licence being issued but rather specific licences where it is considered that there is a particular problem with regard to seals attacking fish. The licences, I believe, are issued specifically to landowners. I also understand that in 1987 quite a large number of licences were issued, even though a very small number of deaths was reported. Is the Minister satisfied that where licences are issued every seal death that occurs under those licences is being reported?

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, what I am certain of is that my right honourable friends the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Home Secretary will be very careful in issuing licences under Section 3 and will be looking at the particular points that the noble Baroness has raised.

Lord Campbell of Croy
My Lords, with reference to the geographical question put by my noble friend Lord Kimberley, is my noble friend the Minister aware that the North Sea extends to Shetland and beyond and that in the case of Shetland—over 100 miles from the mainland and Caithness—seals are already reported to be dying of what is presumed to be the same disease?

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend. I should of course have mentioned Orkney and Shetland as well as Caithness.

§ Lady Kinloss
My Lords, can the Minister say whether the atomic plant at Sizewell could affect seals in the North Sea?

The Earl of Caithness
Not to my knowledge, my Lords.