§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether he has any evidence linking European brown hare syndrome with oilseed rape;
(2) what is his estimate of the mortality levels caused by European brown hare syndrome.
§ Mr. MacleanAlthough the grazing of "double low" varieties of oilseed rape was initially suspected as one of the possible causes of European brown hare syndrome, there is no evidence linking oilseed rape with the disease. A virus is now considered to be the likely cause. Mortality may be high in any one incident, but the proportion of diseased animals is unknown and it is not yet possible to assess the wider impact on the hare population.