Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the protection of birds of prey in the Forest of Dean.

While Defra has not implemented any protections specific to the Forest of Dean, all birds of prey are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is an offence to kill or injure or take any wild bird; take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird (while that nest is in use or being built); and take or destroy an egg of any wild bird.

Bird of prey persecution is a UK wildlife crime priority and Defra supports the work of the national Bird of Prey Crime Priority Delivery Group, which brings together police, government and stakeholders from conservation and country sports organisations to tackle bird of prey persecution. Furthermore, Defra is a principal funder of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), which helps prevent and detect wildlife crime (including bird of prey crime) by obtaining and disseminating intelligence, undertaking analysis which highlights local or national threats and directly assisting law enforcers in their investigations.