§ Mr. SalterTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food it he will relax the conditions under which licences are issued for the culling of cormorants on inland waterways in circumstances where fish are subject to intense predation. [7933]
§ Mr. MorleyCormorants are protected by the 1979 EC Birds Directive, implemented in the UK by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This Act provides for them to be shot under licence in strictly limited numbers in cases where they are causing serious damage to a fishery and where there is no other satisfactory solution. There are no powers to undertake a general cull.
As a licensing authority under the 1981 Act, the Ministry must issue licences in accordance with the requirements of the Act and I cannot, therefore, relax the conditions under which they are issued.