§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make it his policy to increase the three week consultation period before imposing the temporary ban in hunting and coursing of hares in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [142940]
§ Angela SmithThe proposed temporary ban on the killing or taking, or the sale or purchase, of Irish hares would be made through a special protection order, under the provisions of section 7C(1) of the Game Preservation Act (Northern Ireland) 1928. Section 7F(5) of the Act1158W requires that notice of the proposed ban be placed in the Belfast Gazette, specifying the time within which objections may be made. A four-week period for this purpose was considered to be reasonable.
Accordingly, a notice was placed in the 31 October edition of the Belfast Gazette, specifying a four-week deadline, to 28 November, for objections to be lodged. The Department of the Environment also published the notice in the three Belfast daily newspapers on 3, 4 and 5 November and wrote directly to a number of interested parties
Almost 3,000 objections to the proposed Order were received within the specified period. Such a volume of replies would suggest that the period for objection was sufficient for those who wished to express their opposition to the proposed ban. I expect to make a final decision on the proposed Order shortly.