§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the reasons for the granting of a licence to kill bullfinches in 1984 and 1985; if he will list the sites where they were killed; and if he will estimate the number of birds killed.
§ Mrs. FennerI have been asked to reply.
423WThe general licence to kill or take bullfinches in 1984 and 1985, issued by my Department in consultation with the Nature Conservancy Council, permits fruit growers in certain specified areas to control bullfinches to prevent serious damage to the buds of fruit trees or fruit bushes.
The areas where fruit growers are permitted to take action are set out in the following table.
As agreed with the NCC, statistics on the numbers of bullfinches killed or taken are not required. It is not therefore possible to estimate the number of birds killed.
WILDLIFE AND COUNTRYSIDE ACT 1981 AREAS IN WHICH BULLFINCHES MAY BE KILLED OR TAKEN
In the county of Bedfordshire, the parish of Cockayne Hatley.
In the county of Berkshire, the parishes of Bucklebury, Hungerford and Cookham.
In the county of Buckinghamshire, the district of Chiltern, and the parishes of Cheddington, Drayton Parslow, Iver, Chepping Wycombe and Wooburn.
In the county of Cambridgeshire, the districts of East Cambridgeshire, Fenland, Huntingdon and South Cambridgeshire.
The county of Essex.
In the county of Gloucestershire, the districts of Cotswold, Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury, and the parish of Wotton-under-Edge. In the county of Hampshire, the districts of Fareham, Havant and Winchester (City), and the parishes of Bramshott and Liphook, Selboume, West End, South Warnborough, Hordle, Lymington and Pennington, Braishfield and Leckford.
In the county of Hertfordshire, the parishes of Cottered, Hertingfordbury, Bygrave, Colney Heath and Harpenden Rural.
The county of Hereford and Worcester.
The county of Kent.
In the county of Lincolnshire, the district of South Holland, and the parishes of Wyberton, North Scarle and Dowsby.
In the county of Greater London (SE), the London Borough of Bromley.
The county of Norfolk.
In the county of Northamptonshire, the parish of Nether Heyford.
In the county of Oxfordshire, the districts of South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse.
In the county of Shropshire, the district of South Shropshire, and the parishes of Prees and Lilleshall.
The county of Suffolk.
In the county of Surrey, the districts of Elmbridge, Runnymede, Tandridge, Waverley and Woking, and the parish of Charlwood. In the county of East Sussex, the districts of Rother and Wealden, and the parish of Newick.
In the county of West Sussex, the districts of Arun, Chichester, Horsham and Mid-Sussex.
In the county of Warwickshire, the district of Stratford-on-Avon, and the parishes of Brandon and Bretford, Monks Kirby and Sherbourne.
In the county of Wiltshire, the parishes of Wilcot, Box and Bowerchalke.