§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will make a statement on the function of the Coypu Control Organisation; and if he will provide details of the planned staff complement and cost of the organisation;
(2) if he will make a statement on the work of the Coypu Research Laboratory; and if he will provide details of the staff complement and cost of the laboratory.
§ Mr. WigginThe independent Coypu Control Organisation and my Department's Coypu Research Laboratory are both engaged in the new measures against coypu which I announced on 25 January 1980 in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Harborough (Mr. Farr). These measures are based on the published recommendations of a specialist group which was asked to advise on the future programme for controlling coypu, and I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of its report.
The Coypu Control Organisation is responsible for the campaign in the field and I am informed that its staff provision for the financial year 1981–82 is one manager, one part-time secretary, and 27 trappers, for whom the total salary cost is estimated at about £147,000.
The laboratory is engaged in related research and development primarily to establish special techniques for dealing with coypu at the later stages of the campaign when, hopefully, the population will be nearing extinction. The laboratory staff comprise a principal scientific officer, two scientific officers, an assistant scientific officer, an experimental worker, three industrial staff and a clerical officer. The total salary cost in 1980–81 is estimated at about £50,000.