§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the relationship between the staff of the New Forest Buckhounds and of the Forestry Commission; and what guidelines apply in respect of Forestry Commission staff accepting awards from hunt organisations. [19290]
§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will review urgently the current policy where Forestry Commission staff, acting as harbourers for the New Forest Buckhounds, choose the deer to be hunted. [19289]
§ Mr. JackNo. The commission's keeper chooses a deer which would otherwise have been culled as part of the commission's deer management programme.
§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will suspend the licence given to the New Forest Buckhounds to hunt deer pending an508W investigation into its activities and the involvement of Forestry Commission staff. [19291]
§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he intends to take regarding the incident in the New Forest on 10 March where a deer was killed by the New Forest Buckhounds and regarding a further incident on the same day where eye witnesses saw a deer attacked and bitten by hounds before its death.[19288]
§ Mr. JackThe Forestry Commission investigated this incident, concluded that the New Forest Buckhounds had failed to maintain the high standards required by its licence to hunt, and penalised it accordingly.