§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek to obtain information from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds relating to the prices commanded by illegally sold British birds of prey.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyNo. Although the Department's licensing and registration functions are useful inhibitions to the sale of illegally taken birds of prey, it has no direct responsibility for enforcing the law prohibiting their illegal taking, which is a matter for the police. I therefore have no reason to seek information about the prices at which birds of prey are sold.