Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of avian flu on the colony of gannets on Bass Rock near North Berwick, and the resulting loss of population.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We recognise the significant threat posed by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) to the UK’s seabird populations and it is deeply concerning to see the impact this is having on these important species.
Details of findings of HPAI in wild birds in Great Britain are updated weekly and published via GOV.UK/Bird-Flu, together with outbreak and risk assessments. These reports include the recent mortalities of gannets on Bass Rock. Defra is working with Devolved Administrations, Arm’s Length Bodies and NGOs to monitor and respond to the effect of HPAI on wild birds. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) operate a robust programme of wild bird surveillance and carry out year-round HPAI surveillance of dead wild birds from across Great Britain.
While HPAI viruses are predominantly considered a pathogen of birds, the virus can infect mammals. While there is no routine surveillance for HPAI in seals, causes of death of stranded marine mammals are monitored and investigated through the Cetacean Stranding Investigation Programme and Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme. Where appropriate, stranded seals are tested for avian influenza in collaboration with the APHA avian influenza National Reference Laboratory. While the scale of HPAI findings in seabirds during the 2021/2022 avian influenza outbreak have been unprecedented, to date there is no evidence of increased mortality in UK seal populations or an increase in clinical cases brought into wildlife rehabilitation centres.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the scale of the impact of avian flu on UK colonies of seabirds.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We recognise the significant threat posed by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) to the UK’s seabird populations and it is deeply concerning to see the impact this is having on these important species.
Details of findings of HPAI in wild birds in Great Britain are updated weekly and published via GOV.UK/Bird-Flu, together with outbreak and risk assessments. These reports include the recent mortalities of gannets on Bass Rock. Defra is working with Devolved Administrations, Arm’s Length Bodies and NGOs to monitor and respond to the effect of HPAI on wild birds. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) operate a robust programme of wild bird surveillance and carry out year-round HPAI surveillance of dead wild birds from across Great Britain.
While HPAI viruses are predominantly considered a pathogen of birds, the virus can infect mammals. While there is no routine surveillance for HPAI in seals, causes of death of stranded marine mammals are monitored and investigated through the Cetacean Stranding Investigation Programme and Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme. Where appropriate, stranded seals are tested for avian influenza in collaboration with the APHA avian influenza National Reference Laboratory. While the scale of HPAI findings in seabirds during the 2021/2022 avian influenza outbreak have been unprecedented, to date there is no evidence of increased mortality in UK seal populations or an increase in clinical cases brought into wildlife rehabilitation centres.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how many seals have died around the UK or its territorial waters as a result of avian flu spread through seabird colonies.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We recognise the significant threat posed by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) to the UK’s seabird populations and it is deeply concerning to see the impact this is having on these important species.
Details of findings of HPAI in wild birds in Great Britain are updated weekly and published via GOV.UK/Bird-Flu, together with outbreak and risk assessments. These reports include the recent mortalities of gannets on Bass Rock. Defra is working with Devolved Administrations, Arm’s Length Bodies and NGOs to monitor and respond to the effect of HPAI on wild birds. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) operate a robust programme of wild bird surveillance and carry out year-round HPAI surveillance of dead wild birds from across Great Britain.
While HPAI viruses are predominantly considered a pathogen of birds, the virus can infect mammals. While there is no routine surveillance for HPAI in seals, causes of death of stranded marine mammals are monitored and investigated through the Cetacean Stranding Investigation Programme and Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme. Where appropriate, stranded seals are tested for avian influenza in collaboration with the APHA avian influenza National Reference Laboratory. While the scale of HPAI findings in seabirds during the 2021/2022 avian influenza outbreak have been unprecedented, to date there is no evidence of increased mortality in UK seal populations or an increase in clinical cases brought into wildlife rehabilitation centres.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what further steps they intend to take to ensure that seabird colonies, such as colonies of gannets, are adequately protected, including in respect of (1) invasive species, (2) marine pollution, and (3) overfishing.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's seabirds are an important part of our natural heritage, and we continue to support actions to address the range of threats they are facing. Defra have commissioned Natural England to assess the vulnerability of seabird species in light of the pressures they are facing and propose actions to address them. We will work closely with stakeholders to understand the best way to implement and prioritise these actions in early 2023.
To protect the UK's 42 seabird island Special Protection Areas, Defra is funding work through the RSPB's Biosecurity programme which seeks to address the need for biosecurity measures through the removal of introduced predatory mammals.
The UK is a global leader in tackling plastic pollution that enters our waterways, rivers, and ocean. As set out in the UK Marine Strategy Part Three, the UK government is taking action to reduce pollution in the marine environment to help protect marine species, including seabirds. We aim to publish an updated UK Marine Strategy Part Three later this year, outlining the programmes of measures that will continue to move us towards Good Environmental Status in our seas.
We are also assessing the impact that fishing for forage fish species has on the marine ecosystem, including on vulnerable seabirds. Following the recent call for evidence, Defra, working with others, will be developing a policy on a future management strategy for industrial fishing in UK waters. This includes reviewing our policy for the sandeel fishery in the North Sea.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to coordinate a response to the outbreak of avian influenza in seabird colonies across Britain, (2) to put in place a surveillance programme that will improve the early detection of avian flu in wild bird populations in the future, and (3) to (a) plan for, and (b) mitigate the risk of, the spread of avian flu to other species, including marine mammals such as grey seals.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK’s seabirds are an important part of our natural heritage, and their protection is a high priority for the Government. We recognise the significant threat highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) poses to our seabird populations.
Defra is working with Devolved Administrations, Arm’s Length Bodies and charities to monitor and respond to the effect of avian influenza on wild birds. This includes providing advice on mitigation measures that can be put in place to both protect public health and the impact on wild birds where possible. However, avian influenza is a natural transmission process in wild birds and there is limited evidence that mitigation measures are effective at reducing mortality or morbidity in seabird colonies.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) operate a robust programme of wild bird surveillance across Great Britain and engages in year-round avian influenza surveillance of dead wild birds submitted via public reports and warden patrols. Between 25 October 2021 and 8 July 2022, over 3,000 wild birds have been tested. Of these, 1422 have tested positive for H5 HPAI. There have been findings in 343 different locations in 61 different species in 78 different counties. A report (updated weekly) of findings of HPAI in wild birds is published on GOV.UK together with outbreak and risk assessments (www.gov.uk/government/publications/avian-influenza-in-wild-birds).
Last month a new consortium was launched, led by Defra and APHA, to fund research to look into how avian influenza viruses are emerging in wild populations and help us understand the risk posed to both domestic and wild birds.
While avian influenza viruses are predominantly considered a pathogen of birds, the virus can infect mammals. While there is no routine surveillance for avian influenza in seals in Great Britain, causes of death of stranded marine mammals are monitored and investigated through the Cetacean Stranding Investigation Programme and Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme. Where appropriate, stranded seals are tested for avian influenza in collaboration with the APHA avian influenza National Reference Laboratory.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the temporary postponement of the proposed ban on imports of hunting trophies.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We remain committed to bringing forward legislation to ban imports of hunting trophies from thousands of species. This ban will be among the strongest in the world, leading the way in protecting endangered animals. We will bring this forward as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are taking any steps to advance the use of environmentally considerate methods of clearing unexploded ordnance from the sea floor.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Defra recognises the significant impact underwater noise from unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance by detonation can have on vulnerable marine species. Many UXOs lie in areas designated for planned windfarm projects, on cable routes and in areas used by other marine industries, and must be removed to allow safe working conditions.
The Government is aware of, and is investigating, a number of alternative methods to remove UXOs from the seabed. However, these methods have not yet been scientifically proven to be effective in the marine environment and could disturb the ordnance but not fully detonate it, posing health, safety and environmental concerns. Our priority is to ensure any new methods are effective in the marine environment, adhere to relevant health, safety and environmental considerations and are based on robust evidence.
The Government is working closely with scientists, industry and regulators to collect the necessary evidence to enable the safe use of these alternative methods in the marine environment. Once sufficient evidence is available, and on the advice of the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies, the Marine Management Organisation (as the regulatory authority) will be able to make licensing decisions around the use of such techniques.
The Environment Secretary recently met Joanna Lumley and the StopSeaBlasts Campaign, who advocate for the use of alternative UXO clearance methods, to discuss ways in which we can work together to reduce the impact that clearing unexploded bombs can have on marine mammals.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce legislation to ban the import of hunting trophies, including animal heads and carcasses.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government takes the conservation of endangered species seriously and committed to banning the import of hunting trophies from endangered species in our manifesto. A consultation on controls on the import and export of hunting trophies to and from the UK was undertaken between 2 November 2019 and 25 February 2020. The outcome of the consultation, and the accompanying call for evidence will inform our next steps. We are continuing to work on this important area and will publish the Government response as soon as it is practical to do so.
The UK is Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates international trade in endangered species and aims to ensure it does not threaten their survival. Under these internationally agreed rules, imports of hunting trophies into the UK from species listed under CITES, including elephants, hippopotamuses, lions and cheetahs are subject to strict controls.
Hunting trophies are currently allowed to be imported into the UK where they meet current criteria and demonstrate the import will have no detrimental impact on the conservation status or survival of these species, that the specimens have been obtained from a legal and sustainable hunting operation and in accordance with the legislation on the protection of the species concerned. There are however import suspensions relating to certain species coming from particular countries where the hunting of those species is not considered sustainable. These are kept under review.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, under current regulations, trophy hunters were able to bring body parts from threatened and vulnerable species such as elephants, hippopotamuses, lions and cheetahs into the UK over the last 10 years.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government takes the conservation of endangered species seriously and committed to banning the import of hunting trophies from endangered species in our manifesto. A consultation on controls on the import and export of hunting trophies to and from the UK was undertaken between 2 November 2019 and 25 February 2020. The outcome of the consultation, and the accompanying call for evidence will inform our next steps. We are continuing to work on this important area and will publish the Government response as soon as it is practical to do so.
The UK is Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates international trade in endangered species and aims to ensure it does not threaten their survival. Under these internationally agreed rules, imports of hunting trophies into the UK from species listed under CITES, including elephants, hippopotamuses, lions and cheetahs are subject to strict controls.
Hunting trophies are currently allowed to be imported into the UK where they meet current criteria and demonstrate the import will have no detrimental impact on the conservation status or survival of these species, that the specimens have been obtained from a legal and sustainable hunting operation and in accordance with the legislation on the protection of the species concerned. There are however import suspensions relating to certain species coming from particular countries where the hunting of those species is not considered sustainable. These are kept under review.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to discuss with the International Rescue Corps what support that organisation could offer during future floods.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Defra holds the Flood Rescue National Asset Register. This is a list of teams or assets that voluntarily join the register and maintain availability for national deployment during response to flooding. These assets include teams from the Fire and Rescue Service as well as the voluntary sector. Prior to joining the register, the capability of each team will have been assessed.
Details of how a team can join the National Register are laid out in the 2019 Flood Rescue Concept of Operations (FRCO) and my officials are available to discuss the joining requirements with the International Rescue Corps.