§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who owns the traps and other equipment used for badger trapping exercises carried out on behalf of the Department. [148653]
§ Mr. BradshawThe traps and other equipment used in the Randomised Badger Culling Trial are owned by Defra.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the administrative boundaries of the Krebs proactive areas necessarily coincide with the areas inhabited by badgers. [148658]
§ Mr. BradshawThe boundaries of treatment areas in which badger culling would take place were only prescribed once putative badger social group territories had been delineated. Any sett outside a trial area boundary which was associated with a social group of badgers whose territory fell within the trial area would be subject to the same treatment as the sett within the trial area (proactive or reactive culling) once allocated.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what tests have been carried out by the Department to determine1186W whether healthy badgers have acquired or are likely to acquire infection after colonising setts left vacant as a result of clearance of TB infected badgers. [148661]
§ Mr. BradshawIt is likely that the lack of light and relatively constant temperature and humidity inside a badger sett would favour the survival of Mycobacterium bovis (the causative organism of bovine tuberculosis). However, as there is currently no effective live test for TB in badgers, it would not be possible to tell if an incoming badger was healthy when colonising a vacant sett.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what controls are imposed on the relocation of badgers which are treated by animal hospitals and sanctuaries; [148662]
(2) what controls are imposed on the relocation of badgers removed from setts. [148664]
§ Mr. BradshawBadgers are a protected species and it is an offence to take (or attempt to take) a badger from the wild, including for the purpose of relocation elsewhere (Protection of Badgers Act 1992, s.1(1)). A person guilty of this offence is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for up to six months and/or a fine of up to £5,000.
There are certain exceptions to this offence, two of which are specifically relevant to the issue of relocating badgers. These are the treatment of injured or sick badgers, and relocations carried out under the authority of a licence.
Under section 6, a person is not guilty of an offence by reason only of:
"(a) taking or attempting to take a badger which has been disabled otherwise than by this act and is taken or to be taken solely for the purpose of tending it;Like other native species, there are no specific restrictions under current law regulating where badgers are released once they have recovered from treatment. Once recovered, the badger will normally be returned to the location where it was originally found. This approach is recommended by Defra on welfare grounds due to their territorial nature, and also to avoid any risk of transmitting disease. However, there it is recognised that there are situations in which this course of action may not be feasible (particularly in the case of orphaned cubs).
A voluntary code of practice (prepared by the RSPCA, National Federation of Badgers Groups and Secret World Wildlife Rescue) provides comprehensive guidance on rehabilitating and releasing badgers. This adopts a precautionary approach aimed at protecting the welfare of badgers and critically, minimising the risk of transmitting bovine tuberculosis (TB). The code is publicly available via the internet at: http://www. badger. org. uk/action/badger-rehabilitation- protocolcontents.html
Under the code of practice, an adult badger is to be released at the exact location from which it was recovered. If this is not possible the code advises that the animal is euthanased. Badger cubs may be released at a different location. Animals to be relocated are tested for TB three times. Only badgers testing negative to all three tests are released and any animal testing positive is 1187W euthanased. The code also requires that released badgers are permanently marked (by a tattoo or microchip) and registered.
Under section 10 of the Act, licences may be issued to permit badgers to be taken from the wild (and relocated if necessary) for a limited range of specified purposes. These include scientific investigation, preventing the spread of disease, and preventing serious damage to property. Depending on the purpose of the operation, licences are issued by either the appropriate statutory conservation agency or agricultural department (English Nature and Defra, respectively, in England).
Licences to relocate badgers are only issued if such action is clearly justified and where there is considered to be a very low risk of transmitting bovine tuberculosis (TB).
Before any badgers are released at a new location all animals must be tested three times for TB. All badgers testing positive to any of the three tests, or in contact with a badger testing positive, are euthanased.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which persons and organisations are permitted to slaughter badgers; what conditions are imposed on them; and under what circumstances badgers are allowed to be slaughtered. [148663]
§ Mr. BradshawNo persons or organisations are permitted to slaughter badgers.
Badgers are a protected species and it is an offence to kill (or attempt to kill) a badger (Protection of Badgers Act 1992 s.1(1)). A person guilty of this offence is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for up to six months and/or a fine of up to £5,000 (this applies to each badger killed).
There are certain specified exceptions to this offence under which badgers may be lawfully killed. These are summarised as follows.
Section 6—General exceptions
A person is not guilty of an offence:
where a seriously injured badger is killed or attempted to be killed as an act of mercy;where a badger is unavoidably killed or injured as an incidental result of a lawful action; anddoing anything which is authorised under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 eg experimental procedures approved under licence to advance biological or behavioural knowledge etc.Section 7—"Farmer's defence"
A person is not guilty of an offence by reason of killing a badger if the action was necessary for the purpose of preventing serious damage to land, crops, poultry or other form of property.
This defence cannot be relied upon if it was apparent before that time that action would prove necessary and a licence had not been applied for as soon as reasonably practicable, or where an application for such a licence had been determined.
1188WSection 10—Licences
Licences may be granted to permit badgers to be killed for the following purposes:
scientific or educational purposes or the conservation of badgers;preventing the spread of disease;preventing serious damage to land, crops, poultry or any other form of property.All licences are judged on their own merits and would be subject to compliance with conditions specified in the licence.
The exceptions, and any conditions that apply, are stated in full in the Act, which is available from Her Majesty's Stationary Office or online at: www. legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1992/Ukpga_19920051_ en_l.htm.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under what circumstances badgers may be removed from setts; and what regulations govern such removals. [149221]
§ Mr. BradshawBadgers are a protected species and it is an offence to remove (or attempt to remove) a badger from its sett, either forcibly (including the use of dogs) or by installing exclusion measures (such as one-way gates), or by obstructing access of a badger to its sett (Protection of Badgers Act 1992). A person guilty of any of these offences is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for up to six months and/or a fine of up to £5000.
The legislation includes provisions for the granting of licences, which, where justified, could be used to permit the removal (by exclusion) of badgers from a sett. The purposes for which licences may be issued are summarised as follows:
- Science, education or conservation of badgers
- Zoological collections
- Ringing or marking
- Development
- Archaeological preservation or investigation
- Investigating offences
- Preventing the spread of diseaes
- Preventing serious damage to land, crops, poultry or any other form of property
- Agricultural or forestry operations
- Drainage or sea defence
These purposes are described in full in the Act, which is available from Her Majesty's Stationary Office or online at: www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1992/Ukpga_19920051_en_lhtm.
All licences are judged on their own merits and would be subject to compliance with conditions specified in the licence.
Controls relating to the removal of badgers from setts where the intention is to relocate the animals elsewhere—rather than simply denying access to a particular sett— are described in the joint response to parliamentary questions 0673 2003–04 and 0675 2003–04.