§ Lord KILMANYasked Her Majesty's Government:
The MINISTER of STATE, MINISTRY of AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES and FOOD (Earl Ferrers)The survey, to which I referred in my reply to the noble Lord on 19th December 1979 [published 15th January 1980; col. 98], related to changes between the 1976 and 1977 breeding seasons. Carried out by the British Trust for Ornithology and published in December 1978, it showed that during the 1976-77 breeding seasons the populations of crows on farmland increased by an estimated 8 per cent., while crows in woodlands increased by an estimated 2 per cent. The Trust have carried out a further survey relating to the 1977 and 1978 breeding seasons, the results of which are expected during the next few months.
House adjourned at twenty-nine minutes past six o'clock.