Birds: Farmland Populations

Debate between Baroness Masham of Ilton and Lord Henley

Tuesday 18th January 2011 Lords Chamber

[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.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Debate between Baroness Masham of Ilton and Lord Henley

Thursday 22nd July 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Henley]

My Lords, the noble Baroness is correct to say that there has been a decline. Addressing bovine TB still involves great expense, in compensation, testing, research and surveillance. Something of the order of £63 million was spent on it in 2009-10. Some £29.9 million has been invested over the years in vaccine development. We shall continue to work on vaccine development and encourage others to do so as well.

[Baroness Masham of Ilton]

My Lords, can foxes and rabbits carry bovine tuberculosis?

[Lord Henley]

The noble Baroness has absolutely stumped me. I do not know whether foxes and rabbits can spread bovine TB. We know that badgers are the principal problem, which is why we want to address them first, but if there is a problem in foxes and rabbits, I am sure that we will look at that as well.