§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimates have been made of the numbers and locations of the national population of dormice.
§ Sir Paul BeresfordThe national population of dormice is estimated to be between 100,000 and 500,000. The dormouse is found in parts of England and Wales, with the strongest populations in the south of England. Counties with large populations include Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Avon, Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, east and west Sussex, Kent, Gwent, Gloucestershire and Hereford and Worcester. Scattered populations exist in Wiltshire, Hertfordshire, Shropshire, the Glamorgans, Dyfed and Powys. Isolated populations occur in Cumbria, Northumberland, Clwyd and Gwynedd. The species is apparently absent from all other English counties.