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

To ask His Majesty's Government whether DEFRA has the power to authorise individuals to release and catch non-native species, such as Asian hornets, for track and trace purposes.

Licenses for the release of non-native species after capture can be issued under the Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The licensing authority for these licences is Natural England (NE).

The Licencing Authority may only grant licences for certain specified purposes. For example, where the release is part of a rapid eradication measure. NE have therefore granted licences where appropriate to allow for the release of Asian hornets (Vespa velutina).

Any interested party may submit an application to NE to obtain a licence. The application should include comprehensive supporting information to enable NE to make an informed decision on whether a licence can be issued. Any conditions as stipulated by NE upon the issue of the licence must be complied with.

In the case of Asian hornets, the conditions include but are not limited to the immediate reporting of any sightings of individual Asian hornets or their nests to the GB Non-native Species Secretariat. The individual must also regularly report to NE on how the licence has been used.