§ Mr. OnslowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations his Department has received from the Nature Conservancy Council since 1982 recommending the listing of American signal crayfish under schedule 9 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. TrippierMy Department has received a number of representations from the Nature Conservancy Council about this subject in recent years. In October 1990, the council formally recommended that the American signal crayfish should be added to schedule 9 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. My Department is currently considering this recommendation and undertaking the consultation required under section 26 of the 1981 Act.