Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment has she made of the adequacy of penalties for those who have committed crimes related to wildlife.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Wildlife crime is unacceptable and significant sanctions are already available for judges to hand down to those convicted of such crimes. Anyone who commits an offence under existing legislation such as the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 could face up to a six-month custodial sentence and/or an unlimited fine. Sentencing of those convicted of wildlife crimes remains a matter for judges, and these decisions are rightly taken independently of the Government.
In addition, while the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 protects animals that are commonly domesticated, it can extend to wildlife as it prohibits causing unnecessary suffering to wild animals under human control, for example when they are held in a hand or caught live in a trap. Under this Act the maximum sentence for animal cruelty is five years, which is equal to the highest penalty in the world for such crimes. In the Government’s Animal Welfare Strategy published in December 2025, a commitment was made to review and look to strengthen penalties for cruelty against wildlife more generally so that a disparity is addressed and they are consistent with the higher levels of sentencing available for animal welfare offences against pets, livestock and wild animals when under human control.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the bird shooting industry on (a) native bird populations and (b) the natural environment.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has considered the potential impact of the bird shooting industry in a range of ways.
In 2020, Defra considered the ecological impact of gamebird release and commissioned an assessment, as well as identifying evidence gaps for further work. In 2021, Defra launched a three-year Gamebird Research Programme to fill those gaps. Project reports, to be published at https://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/ will be reviewed and inform future policy.
Since 2021 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has become a threat to our vulnerable bird populations. In 2022, at the request of Defra the Animal and Plant Health Agency assessed the risk of released gamebirds spreading HPAI to wild birds.
In 2023 Defra and Natural England reviewed Schedule 2 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This lists wild bird species which can be shot during their open season. Natural England recommended greater protection for some of the species to ensure that such shooting is sustainable and does not undermine the conservation status of the species. Defra will consult on proposals shortly.
There is evidence linking gamebird shooting to illegal raptor persecution. Defra funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit to assist law enforcers investigating this national wildlife crime priority.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether Natural England has enacted byelaws under Section 28R of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 for the (a) protection and (b) management of Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Natural England has not enacted any byelaws under section 28R since the provision’s introduction in 2001. A set of Model SSSI Byelaws for this purpose was agreed with Defra in 2020 and was published by Natural England at https://consult.defra.gov.uk/natural-england/byelaws-for-sssis/.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the health of the sea horse population in Poole harbour.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Protected sites do afford some protection to habitats associated with seahorses. Seahorses are also a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; but the legislation makes no provision for monitoring or reporting on the condition of the population.
Seahorses are known to be present in Poole Harbour and seahorse surveys have been carried out by the Seahorse Trust; evidence of their presence has also been identified from surveys not focused on the species. Collectively the evidence indicates a resident population of seahorses found year-round in the harbour.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what powers public authorities have to restrict vehicular access to Sites of Special Scientific Interest where ecological damage has been, or is being, wilfully caused.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All public bodies have a statutory duty to take reasonable steps to further the conservation and enhancement of the special features of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), including where an SSSI spans multiple landownerships. Natural England (NE) works with all relevant parties to ensure appropriate protection is in place.
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 provides the main framework for protecting SSSIs. It controls operations likely to damage an SSSI’s special features and includes enforcement powers to stop harmful activities, including those involving vehicles.
Any owner or occupier of land on a SSSI who wishes to carry out, or permit others to carry out, an activity likely to damage an SSSI, must obtain consent from NE. Failing to do so is an offence in the absence of a reasonable excuse. NE has various powers in such circumstances, including a power to issue enforcement notices, and require restoration. These consent procedures provide NE with powers to restrict or regulate vehicular access to SSSIs where ecological damage has occurred or is at risk.
In addition, section 28R of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 enables NE to make byelaws for the protection of SSSIs, which could include restricting vehicular entry.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what powers public authorities have to restrict vehicular access to Sites of Special Scientific Interest that span multiple land ownerships where ecological damage is taking place.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All public bodies have a statutory duty to take reasonable steps to further the conservation and enhancement of the special features of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), including where an SSSI spans multiple landownerships. Natural England (NE) works with all relevant parties to ensure appropriate protection is in place.
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 provides the main framework for protecting SSSIs. It controls operations likely to damage an SSSI’s special features and includes enforcement powers to stop harmful activities, including those involving vehicles.
Any owner or occupier of land on a SSSI who wishes to carry out, or permit others to carry out, an activity likely to damage an SSSI, must obtain consent from NE. Failing to do so is an offence in the absence of a reasonable excuse. NE has various powers in such circumstances, including a power to issue enforcement notices, and require restoration. These consent procedures provide NE with powers to restrict or regulate vehicular access to SSSIs where ecological damage has occurred or is at risk.
In addition, section 28R of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 enables NE to make byelaws for the protection of SSSIs, which could include restricting vehicular entry.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the current period of prolonged frost and frozen ground on the ability of woodcock to feed; and whether she intends to exercise existing powers to introduce a temporary suspension of woodcock shooting during this period.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Managed by JNCC, the Severe Weather Scheme is designed to help with the conservation of birds listed at Schedule 2 Part 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, including woodcock, by reducing disturbance during periods of prolonged cold weather through voluntary restraint and then statutory suspension of shooting.
The threshold for the minimum number of days of freezing weather which would trigger voluntary restraint in England has not been met this winter. However, JNCC remains in regular discussion with Defra, the British Association of Shooting and Conservation, and environmental organisations on the impact to birds of the current and forecast cold weather.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has her department made of exisiting legislation to restrict illegal trade of birds of prey.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All wild birds of prey and their eggs are protected under UK legislation, including the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Offences can result in up to a six-month custodial sentence and/or an unlimited fine. Restrictions on the commercial use or trade of birds of prey are also in place under the UK Wildlife Trade Regulations (UK WTRs). Options for improving protections for birds of prey under the UK WTRs are being considered following a recent government consultation.
Crimes involving birds of prey are a national wildlife crime priority. To support enforcement of legislation and help prevent and detect wildlife crime more broadly, Defra provided £494,000 to the National Wildlife Crime Unit in 2025/26.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and what assessment her Department has made of the potential impacts of the decision to reject JNCC's recommendations on seals' ability to rest undisturbed at haul out sites, following JNCC's Seventh Quinquennial Review of Schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our grey and harbour seals face a range of threats and pressures, including potential impacts from disturbance at haul out sites. However, the best available evidence indicates that the effects of disturbance can be variable and are highly site specific and context dependent, with evidence of UK-wide population level impacts less certain.
Although the decision was made to reject JNCC’s recommendations following the seventh quinquennial review of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, seals remain protected under a suite of legislation which make it an offence to take, injure, capture, or kill seals. Seals are also safeguarded from disturbance where they are a notified feature of designated conservation sites such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what evidence her Department considered in deciding to reject the proposed amendments to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, recommended following JNCC's Seventh Quinquennial Review of Schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Through the seventh quinquennial review, JNCC and the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies provided independent, science-based recommendations on species conservation. In considering that advice Defra took a broader perspective, including reflecting existing legal duties and the practical implications of changing a species’ protection. After a careful review of the entirety of JNCC’s advice, for many species there was no clear evidence of how legal protection afforded under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 would benefit them, or what the implications would be. However, the data and evidence provided within the advice is invaluable to Defra in shaping wider government activity and action which will benefit species conservation and recovery.