Birds: Farmland Populations Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Baroness Masham of Ilton
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Birds: Farmland Populations
Baroness Masham of Ilton Excerpts(13 years, 3 months ago)
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Lord Henley
My Lords, I would have thought that what we do for the Campaign for the Farmed Environment is exactly what the noble Baroness is talking about in terms of the leadership that she would like from Defra. We will continue to support its work and support agri-environment schemes because we think that they are one way forward to help improve biodiversity for birds. Obviously, they take a very long time before they have any effect on the decline in birds which, as my noble friend made clear, has been going on some 40 years.
Baroness Masham of Ilton
My Lords, is there a fear of bird flu? Could that be one of the reasons for the decline?
Lord Henley
My Lords, I think that goes slightly beyond the Question on the Order Paper, but I am not aware of any fear of bird flu affecting farmland birds, to which this Question refers.