§ Lord Burtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Whitty on 6 May (WA 104), what survey of wild mallard was made to ascertain the base 100 per cent. number; by whom the survey was made; when the survey was done; and where the survey was done. [HL3709]
§ Lord WhittyFigures on the mortality of mallard were derived from Mudge G. P. 1983.The incidence and significance of ingested lead pellet poisoning in British wildfowl, Biological Conservation, 27, 333–372. The work was carried out in the late 1970s in a number of locations in Great Britain. The findings were based on a sample of 2,683 birds from 24 species of which mallard formed a significant number.
§ Lord Burtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Whitty on 6 May (WA 104), how he reconciles his Answer that "2.3 per cent. of wild mallard dying each year from lead poisoning was of a similar scale of mortality to that reported for the USA, where 2–3 per cent. are alleged to die each year" with the fact that there has been a ban on lead shot in the United States since 1991. [HL3710]
§ Lord WhittyMortality figures of 2–3 per cent. for the United States, were based on a research paper by G. C. Sanderson,Lead poisoning mortality published in 1992.