§ Lord Melchettasked Her Maiesty's Government:
What precautions were taken to step up the level of supervision, by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland fishery officers, of hunters licensed to take grey seal pups during the 1981 season.
§ The Earl of MansfieldA fishery officer from my department was stationed in Orkney throughout the period of the 1981 grey seal pup hunt and was engaged exclusively on the general supervision of the hunt during that time. As in previous years, a number of seal colonies, including all those where hunters were licensed to take pups, were visited on a regular basis. In addition to witnessing a high proportion of the hunting activity, the officer inspected a number of the consignments of skins. The whole level of supervision was more intensive than in previous years including in particular a higher level of sea time through an extended charter of a vessel. In addition, a senior officer maintained a general supervision through reports from the officer on the spot and visited the Orkney Islands during the period of the hunt.