§ 88. Sir A. Hurdasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now announce further measures to assist the reduction in numbers of wood pigeons.
§ Mr. John HareExperiments over the past three years have shown that wood pigeons can be considerably reduced in number by the systematic destruction of their nests over wide areas during specified times between July and September.46W To encourage the use of this method in an organised and humane manner, the Government have decided that the cost of nest destruction, carried out by rabbit clearance societies, may qualify for the 50 per cent. grant to these societies. This should stimulate concerted action against both rabbits and wood pigeons. Nest destruction is not a substitute for shooting; for best results both methods should be used. A leaflet describing nest destruction is available in the Library of the House.