§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for changes to the regulatory framework for(a) fishing and (b) shooting other than those resulting from the Hunting Bill, if enacted. [133516]
§ Mr. BradshawThis Government have no plans to change the regulatory framework for fishing or shooting.
When contemplating changes to other legislation the Government consider carefully how best to achieve their aim while protecting other sports from damage that may result from any legal precedent set. However, there may be relatively minor changes that occur indirectly following amendments to certain related legislation. For example, the Environmental Protection (Restriction on the Use of Lead Shot) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2003, introduces minor changes to the list of sites in Schedule 1 to The Environmental Protection (Restriction on the Use of lead Shot)(England) Regulation 1999. Specifically the New Forest, Avon Valley (Hereford) and River Derwent and Tributaries (Cumbria) and Stanford Training Area, are removed from the list of sites as not being important to waterfowl; the Tweed Estuary is reinstated to the list because it has significant importance for these species. These changes come into force on the 31 October 2003. From this date it will be legal to use lead shot in the New Forest providing people are not shooting species listed on Schedule 2 of the 1999 Regulations, such as ducks and geese.