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

To ask His Majesty's Government why they consider the removal of white-fronted geese from Schedule 2(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to be necessary to protect Greenland white-fronted geese.

Natural England provided an evidence dossier for the European white-fronted goose as part of a recent Government consultation which proposes removing this species from Schedule 2.1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in England. The dossier concludes that such a removal would act as an additional safeguard for protecting (from accidental shooting) individuals of the population of globally endangered Greenland white-fronted goose occurring in England. UK Government Ministers agreed with this assessment.