Bird Control Licences Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Lord Bethell
Main Page: Lord Bethell (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)Department Debates - View all Lord Bethell's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(2 years, 10 months ago)
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Lord Benyon (Con)
I am enjoying the image of the noble Baroness and my noble friend enjoying a walk in the countryside. There are three legs to the stool of nature conservation: providing habitat, providing good feed sources and legal predator control. When those three are put in place, extraordinary things happen. It helps us hit our 2030 target of no net loss of biodiversity.
Lord Bethell (Con)
My Lords, shoot owners contribute £250 million and volunteers contribute 3.9 million volunteering days every year. What assessment has the department made of the value of this contribution to our country’s environment?
Lord Benyon (Con)
There are various data sources about the value of shooting to the wider rural economy. There are, of course, other measures that have shown the wider conservation benefits of properly managed countryside. In order for lapwing numbers to thrive, you need to be fledging 0.7 chicks per pair. It is very interesting to see where, in the country, that is being achieved and where it is not.