§ Miss Quennellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what evidence she has received from the Nature Conservancy on the rise or fall in the badger population in the United Kingdom.
§ Mrs. ThatcherThere is no quantitative evidence at present on fluctuations in the size of the badger population, but the Nature Conservancy, which keeps in touch with expert naturalists in many parts of the country, is of the opinion that badgers are generally common and widely distributed throughout Great Britain. The Mammal Society is currently40W conducting a survey of the state of the badger population, but its results will not be available for some time.