§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to adhere to the conditions of the Berne convention by protecting the habitat of small cetaceans, and in particular the dolphin populations in the Moray firth and Cardigan bay; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BaldryThe Government fulfil their obligations under the Berne convention principally through the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The 1981 Act, as subsequently amended, prohibits the deliberate killing, injuring or taking of all small cetacean species.
The Government's strategy for protection of the marine environment was set out in the environment White Paper—Cm. 1200. In accordance with the wildlife initiatives agreed in the ministerial declaration of the third North sea 461W conference in March this year, new research is being commissioned to improve knowledge of cetacean behaviour and to analyse tissue samples from stranded animals. Good progress is also being made on the preparation of an agreement on the conservation of small cetaceans in the Baltic and North seas under the Bonn convention on migratory species.