§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will support the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) sponsored project to study the behaviour of whales in the sea off the West Coast of Iceland; and if she will make representations to the Icelandic Government to persuade them to accede to IFAW's request to undertake this research. [178797]
§ Mr. BradshawThe request by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to the Government of Iceland for permission to study the behaviour of whales in the sea off the West Coast of Iceland was made through our embassy at Reykjavik. Our ambassador has since raised the application in contacts at senior level at both the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Prime Minister. The Government of Iceland can be in no doubt of Her Majesty's Government's full support for this request and the aims and objectives of the IFAW sponsored project. We will continue to press for a favourable response.