§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will make it his policy to take steps to apply the provisions of the Arctic Foxes Order (Northern Ireland) 1988 to the United Kingdom, as a whole;
(2) what information he has concerning the number of Arctic fox fur farms in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonI have information about premises farming Arctic fox for their fur from the licensing arrangements operated for mink farms and from the review of those arrangements in 1987. Arctic fox are farmed at three establishments of which two are in England and one in Scotland.
131WMy Department is considering whether controls on the keeping of destructive non-indigenous animals should be extended to Arctic fox and other species. Organisations and the public have been invited to make representations by the end of the month.
Total sheep and lambs 1975 1980 1983 1986 Cleveland 37,216 39,793 44,740 51,779 Cumbria 1,539,982 1,722,919 1,890,202 2,096,039 Durham 413,267 480,235 526,952 582,258 Northumberland 1,110,454 1,223,453 1,350,584 1,452,855 Tyne and Wear 6,722 9,081 9,210 9,579 Humberside 286,039 231,253 190,455 172,325 North Yorkshire-North Allerton 823,837 919,525 1,682,543 1,793,499 North Yorkshire-Beverley 602,199 674,762 21,123 20,641 South Yorkshire 35,494 45,111 54,501 62,710 West Yorkshire 112,820 142,516 161,192 194,778 Derbyshire 241,425 290,575 317,740 358,347 Leicestershire 300,750 319,547 350,962 374,562 Lincolnshire 312,741 286,732 255,949 258,853 Northamptonshire 352,506 363,497 386,181 411,283 Nottinghamshire 91,199 74,155 81,482 83,268 Cambridgeshire 51,377 47,937 53,493 62,492 Norfolk 88,100 99,994 107,460 122,852 Suffolk 54,557 46,655 44,915 51,092 Bedfordshire 32,970 39,761 44,397 52,588 Berkshire 42,775 51,780 52,109 60,822 Buckinghamshire 126,707 155,628 179,469 203,733 East Sussex 197,986 240,149 284,256 315,019 Essex 48,065 52,918 63,490 77,286 Greater London (East) 2,398 1,971 2,013 2,407 Greater London (South East) 2,782 2,813 2,975 3,010 Hampshire 104,645 131,154 158,575 204,063 Hertfordshire 26,489 26,070 31,056 38,862 Isle of Wight 10,782 18,521 22,229 27,234 Kent 591,789 616,807 633,075 638,974 Oxfordshire 163,118 175,359 185,213 211,797 Surrey 32,155 41,346 52,497 67,334 West Sussex 58,949 79,865 104,011 124,392 Avon 42,094 55,365 59,393 79,276 Cornwall 413,458 489,202 539,634 563,734 Devon 1,328,193 1,480,138 1,605,269 1,687,038 Dorset 102,784 141,452 156,271 188,848 Gloucestershire 279,837 311,869 357,831 385,887 Isles of Scilly 11 93 118 4 Somerset 385,025 444,163 497,340 510,115 Wiltshire 141,043 187,497 220,613 245,867 Hereford and Worcester 861,555 931,724 1,047,556 1,109,455 Shropshire 629,484 708,006 780,300 831,228 Staffordshire 149,366 192,553 221,093 251,281 Warwickshire 233,822 265,716 302,711 313,340 West Midlands 12,253 15,547 17,228 17,882 Cheshire 80,761 106,000 129,819 156,976 Greater Manchester 31,348 35,155 44,356 56,233 Lancashire 469,443 535,516 572,330 641,404 Merseyside 3,226 2,573 3,601 4,812 Source: June agricultural census