§ Mr. Terry Walkerasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps his Department is taking to protect oystercatchers following the cull of 11,000 in South Wales earlier in the year.
§ Mr. BuchanProtection for the oystercatcher in the Burry Inlet, South Wales, was removed by the Home Office on the recommendation of its Advisory Committee for the Protection of Birds, and my Department has no reason to question this decision.
The cull of 7,000 oystercatchers completed earlier this year was part of a programme authorised because a great increase in their numbers threatened the survival of the Burry Inlet cockle fishery.