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.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

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.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government how many European white-fronted geese have been shot at the Northumberland Wildlife Trust reserve Grindon Lough in the open season in each of the last ten years.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Natural England (NE) provided an evidence dossier for the European white-fronted goose as part of a recent government consultation. While the dossier notes Grindon Lough as a site where Greenland white-fronted geese overwinter, Grindon Lough is not an SSSI and neither NE nor the Government holds information on how many European white-fronted geese have been shot at this location in the open season in the last ten years.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of shooting pressure on the European white-fronted goose in England and Wales on the overall population of the European white-fronted goose in Europe, in line with the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has not made an assessment of the impact of shooting pressure on the European white-fronted goose in England and Wales on the overall population of the European white-fronted goose in Europe. 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. It states that the European white-fronted goose shooting take in England and Wales numbers less than 100 each year, based on research estimates.

The dossier also notes that numbers in Europe ‘appear to be stable’. Latest estimates suggest that the European population of European white-fronted goose totals 1–1.4 million individuals, whereas the British population totals 1,500 individuals. This offers some context to the relatively small proportion of the European population at risk of shooting pressure in England.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to adding brent goose to Schedule 2(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has recently launched a consultation on amending Schedule 2.1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Though the thrust of the consultation is proposing to remove certain species from Schedule 2.1, or to extend the close seasons of others, the consultation proposes adding woodpigeon to Schedule 2.1 as it applies in England, Scotland and Wales. The consultation asks consultees if any other species should be added to Schedule 2.1 in England, Scotland or Wales, and for evidence or reasoning to support any such suggestions. If suggestions for brent goose being added to Schedule 2.1 are supported with compelling evidence or reasoning, the UK government will consider such a measure for England.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government how many Greenland white-fronted geese have been shot accidentally in England in the open season for European white-fronted goose in each of the last ten years.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government does not hold information on how many Greenland white-fronted geese have been shot accidentally in England in the open season for European white-fronted geese in the last ten years. The published Conservation Brief for the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of the Greenland White-fronted Goose makes clear that “accidental take remains a risk in England where European whitefronts remain a quarry species.”

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

To ask His Majesty's Government why they propose to remove Goldeneye from Schedule 2(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act; and what evidence there is that shooting is impacting Goldeneye population and sustainability.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Natural England (NE) provided an evidence dossier for the goldeneye 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. NE recommended that the Government should remove goldeneye from Schedule 2.1 to reduce the potential impact of hunting on the breeding and non-breeding populations, based on the precautionary principle, until more accurate data is available to show that recreational shooting can be managed on a sustainable basis. UK Government Ministers agreed with this assessment.