Dr. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if his Department has made any evaluation of the effects on the breeding cycle of ravens in North Cumbria from their consumption of carrion from flocks of sheep with high uptake of radioactivity from the Chernobyl fallout.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyNo specific evaluation of the effects on ravens of sheep carrion has been made. We are advised that the declining population of this species is thought to be primarily caused by loss of habitat and food supply resulting from changing agricultural practices and improved livestock management.