New Zealand Flatworm (Hansard, 7 February 1995)

The Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Earl Howe)
My 100 Lords, the Government are funding research into the biology and ecology of the New Zealand flatworm and its implications for agriculture and the environment. The Central Science Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food provides advice on how to control and dispose of this pest. Legislation was introduced in 1992 under which it is an offence to release flatworms or allow them to escape into the wild.

§ Lord Beaumont of Whitley
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that Answer. Can he give some details as to how big an area of the United Kingdom is infested so far and how fast the infestations are spreading? Can he assure the House that there is a real sense of urgency in the way the Government are dealing with what many see as a major problem?

Earl Howe
My Lords, the Government are indeed taking the problem seriously. We have established that the flatworm is widespread throughout most of Scotland and Northern Ireland. There have also been 25 recorded occurrences in England, mainly in the north of the country, all but one of those since 1992. Research in 1992 showed that in Scotland the flatworm was found mainly in private gardens and allotments. The evidence at that time suggested that it was not widely established on agricultural land. Similarly, identifications in Northern Ireland have mainly been in domestic gardens, although the flatworm appears to be spreading to agricultural land there as well.

§ Lady Saltoun of Abernethy
My Lords, if one finds a flatworm in one's garden how does one stop it escaping into the wild?

Earl Howe
My Lords, the official advice is to tread on it or pour something hot or salty on top of it.

§ Lord Carter
My Lords, can the Minister tell the House whether the New Zealand flatworm, or Artiposthia triangulate as we call it in Wiltshire, is a garden pest or a farm pest? Is it correct that funding for research into flatworm control in Scotland provided from the agricultural budget of the Scottish Office has ended because the flatworm is not regarded as an agricultural pest although, according to a recent report, they go round in gangs and jump on earthworms?

Earl Howe
My Lords, the difficulty is that the scope for assessing the implications of New Zealand flatworm infestation for agriculture has been limited by a lack of established populations on agricultural land, especially in England and Scotland. When the distribution of the flatworm in Scotland was surveyed by the Scottish Crop Research Institute between July 1991 and February 1993 its impact on earthworm populations on agricultural land was found to be minimal. There was a suggestion that in drier, more intensively farmed areas of eastern Scotland flatworm and earthworm populations may co-exist. As I said, research is continuing; we await the results with interest.

§ Lord Aberdare
My Lords, my noble friend's advice is to stamp on the flatworm. Is it effective to stamp on a worm that is already flat?

Earl Howe
My Lords, my noble friend makes a good point. However, I remind him that the official name of 101 the animal is Artiposthia triangulata, which signifies that in cross-section it has a distinct triangular form. It can also be distinguished by its purplish brown colour with bands of dirty yellow running along it. It is also typically covered in a layer of mucus. I am sure that my noble friend would not mistake it if he found it.

§ Lord Geddes
My Lords, is there a hint of anti-colonial bias in the Question; or do these nasty pests come from countries other than New Zealand?

Earl Howe
My Lords, I have no wish to impugn either our friends in New Zealand or those anywhere else in the Commonwealth. I understand that the incidence of the flatworm in New Zealand is not much of a problem, at least for agriculture. The open fields there tend to be too hot and dry for the worm's survival. It is when the worm is in a wetter, cooler climate that the problems begin.