Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many game farms are operational in England and Wales; and how many of them are registered with the Poultry Register.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is no official definition of a game farm in the UK, and the England and Wales Kept Bird Register only details keepers of bird species that might be released for shooting. The following data was extracted from the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s database:
| ENGLAND | WALES | ||
Flock Size | Premises* | Birds | Premises* | Birds |
0-49** | 1,430 | 9,632 | 107 | 854 |
50-999 | 1,795 | 765,701 | 86 | 36,960 |
1,000-9,999 | 1,879 | 5,671,620 | 77 | 259,840 |
10,000-99,999 | 665 | 18,074,681 | 54 | 1,704,480 |
100,000 | 70 | 15,628,895 | 2 | 240,750 |
TOTAL | 5,839 | 40,150,529 | 326 | 2,242,884 |
* Indicates the presence of at least one flock of pheasants, partridges or ducks reared for shooting were kept. It will also include ornamental species and keepers that buy in and rear birds.
** Flocks where no usual stock number has also been recorded.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many outbreaks of Avian Influenza occurred on game farms in 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There were no outbreaks of High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) on game farms in England during 2024.
There were 17 outbreaks of HPAI in England during 2024 but none of them were on game farms.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the number of a) pheasants and b) partridges that were released for recreational shooting in (i) 2023, (ii) 2024 and (iii) 2025.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The release of pheasant and red legged partridge on or within 500 metres of a European site must be authorised under licence. It is a requirement of such licences to report releases made under their authorisation. Our records show that the following numbers of birds were reported released during the relevant years.
| Pheasant | Red-legged partridge |
2023 | 221,283 reported | 180,868 reported |
2024 | 361,053 reported | 209,030 reported |
2025 | 108,231 reported so far | 46,705 reported so far |
Releases undertaken beyond 500 metres of a European site, do not need to be reported and my Department therefore does not hold the information requested.
The number of birds being released has been increasing, and it is currently estimated that between 39 and 57 million pheasants and 8.1 and 13 million partridges are released in the UK, with 85% of these in England. It is thought that releases on or within 500 metres of a European site in England, represent less than 1% of total release activity in the UK.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in light of the presence of Avian Influenza, whether she is going to permit the release of pheasants and partridges into the countryside for recreational shooting in 2026.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This will principally depend on the level of risk from Avian Influenza to commercial poultry flocks and to our internationally important bird populations at Special Protection Areas. It is not possible to say at this point in time what the level of disease risk will be during the 2026 release season and therefore what level of release will be permitted.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of section 147ZA of the Highways Act 1980 on the rights of disabled people to access the outdoors.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is supportive of the provision within section 147ZA of the 1980 Act that enables an authority to work with landowners and relevant parties to replace or improve existing structures so that they can be used more easily by individuals that may experience mobility challenges. There is currently no national assessment available of the impacts of this provision. However, we will continue to improve access to green and blue spaces, ensuring that it is safe and appropriate for all users, through our various initiatives.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made representations to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on ensuring that the statutory duties of local highway authorities for the public rights of way network are integrated into the Local Government Outcomes Framework.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on a range of issues.
The Government has no plans at this stage to integrate local highway authorities’ statutory duties for public rights of way into the Local Government Outcomes Framework. The Local Government Outcomes Framework will include key national priorities delivered at the local level, so will not have metrics measuring all local authority statutory duties. Local highway authorities have clear statutory responsibilities for managing and maintaining the public rights of way network within their individual areas, including ensuring routes are kept free from obstruction. They are also required to prepare and keep under review a Rights of Way Improvement Plan, which assesses the condition of the network and sets out planned improvements for all users. These plans are published on each authority’s website.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 27 October 2025 to Question 83666, how new permanent legal rights of public access will be created through proposals for nine new river walks and three new national forests.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our nine new river walks and three new national forests will both increase available natural space and make it more accessible.
We are progressing plans to deliver nine new National River Walks across England, one in each region, to enhance access to nature and are currently considering several delivery options. Further details will be announced in due course.
Our three new national forests in the West of England, the Oxford-Cambridge corridor and the Midlands or North of England, once confirmed, will support delivery of environmental improvement goals including improving access to green space and better connecting people with nature. The Government will set out plans for new national forests in the coming months which will incorporate many factors, including a consideration of new permanent legal rights of access.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will include proposals to end the routine culling of day-old male chicks in the UK egg industry, including through the adoption of in-ovo sexing technology in the her Department’s forthcoming animal welfare strategy.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 9 July 2025 to the hon. Member for Stockport, PQ UIN 64121.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to enact (a) a mandatory Precision Bred Variety List for England and (b) mandatory labelling of precision-bred seeds and plant reproductive materials before the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Regulations 2025 come into force.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For the main agricultural and vegetable plant varieties, a variety must be registered on the Great Britain (GB), or Northern Ireland (NI) variety lists before seed can be marketed. To implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023, a new, mandatory Precision Bred Plant Variety List for England is proposed to facilitate the evaluation of precision bred agricultural and vegetable plant varieties in England.
Feedback from recent public consultation will be used to shape the regulatory framework for precision bred plants and plant reproductive material to ensure it reflects stakeholder concerns and priorities, including the need for clear, and accessible information on precision bred plant varieties. The feedback will inform future decisions on the inclusion of precision bred status in mandatory labelling of precision bred seed and other plant reproductive material.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the certification bodies for (a) organic and (b) conventional non-GMO seeds providers can prevent unlabelled precision-bred seeds and plant reproductive materials marketed in England from entering their supply chains.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is working with the organic sector to prepare for the medium and longer term by discussing non-legislative options for supply chain coexistence. This includes facilitating discussions between experts to establish which measures, currently used by the industry, could be used by farmers to enable coexistence between precision bred and non-precision bred crop production. This is in line with approaches taken internationally.
To implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023, a new Precision Bred Plant Variety List for England is proposed. Any precision bred agricultural or vegetable plant varieties need to be accepted onto the new variety list before being marketed. Users, including those in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, will be able to access information about precision bred plant varieties in the Plant Varieties and Seeds Gazette.
Defra are continuing to engage regularly with the Devolved Governments to discuss potential impacts.