§ Mr. GrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what discussions her Department has held with the authors of the Joint Universities Study on Deer Hunting (The physiological response of red deer (Cervus elaphus) to prolonged exercise undertaken during hunting, 1998) about the physiological effects on deer which(a) escape after being hunted and (b) are hunted and shot; [80834]
(2) what estimates her Department has made of the size of the annual cull of (a) foxes, (b) hares, (c) deer and (d) mink; [80836]
160W(3)what plans she has to establish a national strategy for the management of (a) foxes, (b) hares, (c) deer and (d) mink; [80835]
(4)what studies her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the economic damage caused by the deer population to root crops and grass by grazing, trampling and lying; and what assessment her Department has made of trends over the last 10 years; [80829]
(5)what studies her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the economic cost of agricultural damage caused by (i) foxes, (ii) hares, (iii) deer and (iv) mink; [80832]
(6)what studies her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the (i) fox, (ii) hare, (iii) mink and (iv) deer (1) red, (2) fallow, (3) roe, (4) sika, (5) muntjac and (6) Chinese water deer populations in England and Wales; and what estimates have been made of current populations compared to those 10 years ago; [80828]
(7)what studies her Department has commissioned into the agricultural damage caused by badgers; [80833]
(8)what studies her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the predation of (i) water voles and (ii) fish by mink; [80831]
(9)what studies her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into negative physiological effects on (i) foxes, (ii) hares and (iii) mink which escape after being hunted. [80837]
§ Alun MichaelOur objective in respect of(a) foxes, (b) hares, (c) deer and (d) mink is to permit their humane management where they are in conflict with agriculture, forestry, food, fisheries or property interests.
Evidence relating to the physiological responses of hunted deer was presented to the Department at the Hunting with Dogs, Hearings on the Evidence (9–11 September 2002) by Professor Roger Harris of University College Chichester. His written and oral evidence related to his own studies and those of Professor Bateson and the Joint Universities Group. Professor Bateson's work was also presented to the inquiry led by Lord Burns and discussed at length with the Burns inquiry.
The following studies have been evaluated by the Department to assess the economic cost of agricultural damage caused by:
(i) Foxes
Dr. Piran White of the University of York presented evidence on the costs of agricultural damage associated with foxes to the Hunting with Dogs, Hearings on the Evidence (9–11 Sept 2002). This was based on two particular publications:White P.C.L, Groves, H.L, Savery, J.R., Conington, J. and Hatchings, M.R. (2000) Fox predation as a cause of lamb mortality on hill farms. Veterinary Record 747:33–37:and Moberly, R.L (2002) The costs of foxes to agricultural interests in Britain. PhD Thesis, University of York.
161WThe Countryside Alliance submitted written evidence to the hearings that included details of surveys to assess the impact of fox predation among sheep breeding flocks in England and Wales undertaken by Produce Studies Ltd.
Previous data on the occurrence of fox killing on sheep farms, was submitted by The Game Conservancy Trust (Reynolds 2000). A review of literature by the Central Science Laboratory has included:Lloyd, H.G. (1980) The red fox. Batsford, London. MacDonald, D.W. (1984) A questionnaire survey of farmers' opinions and actions towards wildlife on farmlands. In Agriculture and the Environment (ed D. Jenkins) ITE Publications. MacDonald, D.W. (1987) Running with the fox. Unwin Hyman, London 224pp. Reynolds, J.C. (2000) Fox control in the countryside. The Game Conservancy Trust. The then Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food funded the Central Science Laboratory to conduct a literature review on 'The impact of the fox in Rural and Urban Britain'. The report reviewed the literature on:population status and distribution, trends in the fox populations, economic and environmental damage by foxes, methods of fox control and management, and their effectiveness.
(ii)Deer
The Department has funded "A review of Lowland deer" (CSL and R.J. Putman). This literature review covered the distribution and status of lowland deer in England and Wales, damage caused by deer, management of deer, particular problem areas and priorities for future deer research.
(iii)Mink
The Department funded the Central Science Laboratory to review the ecological and economic impacts of mink in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland on behalf of Scottish Natural Heritage.
A Report to Scottish Natural Heritage. Moore, N.P., Robertson, P.A. and Aegerter, J.N. (2000) Feasibility study into the options for management of mink in the Western Isles.
Stephen Harris et al. (1995) estimate the following pre-breeding population sizes for mammals in Great Britain. There is no 10-year comparison or population data arising from research funded by the Department or available elsewhere.
England Scotland Wales Total GB Fox 195,000 23,000 22,000 240,000 Brown hare 572,250 187,250 58,000 817,500 Mink 46,700 52,250 9,750 >110,000 Red deer 12,500 347,000 <50 360,000 Fallow deer 95,000 <4,000 <1,000 100,000 Roe deer 150,000 350,000 50 500,000 Sika deer 2,500 9,000 0 11,500 Muntjac deer 40,000 <50 <250 40,000 Chinese water deer 650 0 0 650 Source:
Harris, S., Morris P., Wray S. and Yalden D. 1995. A Review of British Mammals:population estimates and conservation status of British mammals other than cetaceans. J/VCC, Peterborough.
162WThe Department has also funded the following range of studies on deer.
Desk and limited field studies to analyse the major factors influencingregional deer populations and ranging behaviour.Field and desk studies to develop tolerable damage levels for different habitats and species of deer.And work is under way on the quantification of wild deer damage to agriculture crops and pastures.The Department collects no data on numbers of foxes, deer, mink or hares killed each year, but the most recent information on numbers of foxes, deer, mink and hares killed by hunting with dogs may be found in the Burns Report.
The Department has not commissioned any studies into the predation of water voles and fish by mink, but is aware of research undertaken in this field by others.
In 1997 the then Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food commissioned the Central Science Laboratory to carry out a one-year project to assess badger damage to agriculture and forestry in England and Wales, involving a questionnaire survey backed up with damage assessments on the ground.
A badger culling field trial is being carried out as part of Defra's extensive bovine tuberculosis (TB) research programme. The trial has been designed to find out what role, if any, badgers play in the transmission of bovine TB to cattle and whether badger culling is an effective or sustainable bovine TB control mechanism.
The Department is currently funding the research project, 'Quantification of wild deer damage to agriculture, crops and pastures'. There are no data available to assess trends over the last 10 years.
The Department is not aware of any scientific studies that have examined negative physiological effects on foxes, hares or mink which escape after being hunted. However, observations on the behaviour of such animals were given to the Hunting with Dogs, Hearings on the Evidence (9–11 Sept 2002). A copy of the transcript and videos of the proceedings are available in the House of Commons Library.
In June 2001 Defra let a GB wide research contract entitled "Design and pilot a multi-species terrestrial mammal monitoring project" to the British Trust for Ornithology and the Mammal Society. The overall aim is to design and pilot a winter monitoring project involving both visual recording of mammals and the recording of their signs using a volunteer network. This is intended to form a building block for an integrated standardised mammal-monitoring system that embraces the full range of important species, and will help assess long-term trends. Certain species, such as the fox, have been targeted for monitoring, but all other mammals signs encountered should be recorded. As yet no population comparisons have been undertaken of the species being monitored. The pilot scheme concludes in November 2003.