§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when his Department was informed of the likelihood that the short-haired bumblebee is extinct; which other creatures in the United Kingdom his Department has assessed to be at serious risk of extinction; and what action he proposes to take. [64333]
§ Mr. MealeSurveys throughout the 1970s and 1980s suggested that whilst undergoing declines, the short-haired bumblebee was still present albeit localised. It was not until August 1998, when examples of the short haired bumblebee were not found for the second year in succession at its previous Dungeness stronghold, that fears were raised about its possible extinction.
There are a number of United Kingdom species which are endangered (fauna) or critically endangered (flora) and the Government are taking forward a range of measures, including the establishment of biodiversity species action plans, to address their plight. A plan for the short-haired bumblebee is in preparation.