§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to protect Suffolk Punch from extinction. [87755]
§ Mr. MorleyThe conservation management of breeds at risk, especially those that are numerically rare such as the Suffolk Punch, is carried out by non-Governmental organisations such as the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and breed societies. There is no need for Government intervention at the present time because of the ongoing conservation plan.
§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many Suffolk Punch breeding(a) herds and (b) mares there are in the United Kingdom. [87773]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Defra maintained UK National Database of Farm Animal Genetic Resources shows that the most recent survey of the Suffolk Horse breed (known locally as the Suffolk Punch) was in 1997 when the number of mares stood at 69. It is therefore on the critical list of rare equine breeds maintained by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust who are responsible, with the Suffolk Horse Society, for managing an ongoing conservation plan using frozen semen.