Foxes Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Lord Marlesford
Main Page: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Marlesford's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(14 years, 5 months ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Henley
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for her kind words and I welcome her to her new role on the Front Bench. We shall talk to local authorities, but I repeat that we believe that these matters are best left to them, rather than being dealt with by direction from the centre. Advice on how to deal with foxes is available from Natural England. I can also assure her that we have commissioned research from the Food and Environment Research Agency into what I gather is referred to as immunocontraception. Currently, that is being trialled on wild boars, but it could have relevance for the control of other mammals.
Lord Marlesford
My Lords, is it legal to release urban foxes in rural areas? If it is, will the Government consider making it illegal?
Lord Henley
My Lords, my understanding is that it could be illegal to do so under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 if it were to cause distress to the fox, which I imagine it would. Obviously, it would depend on the individual circumstances of any capture and release.