Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; whether he plans to continue with the cull of badgers in Derbyshire; and for what reason 1,675 badgers were to be culled.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Government has committed to ending badger culling by the next General Election. In contrast, in the past decade over 230,000 badgers were culled.
On 30 August, Defra announced that we will be working on a comprehensive new TB eradication strategy to end the badger cull and drive down bovine TB rates to protect farmers’ livelihoods.
Badger culling is licensed under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 for the purpose of preventing the spread of disease. The figure quoted in the question refers to the maximum number of badgers to be culled under supplementary badger control licences in Derbyshire. In previous years, the total number of badgers culled has been closer to the minimum, which this year is set at 425, rather than the maximum.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish the next phase of the consultation on restricting bottom trawling in offshore marine protected areas (MPAs); and whether he plans to include an option for bottom trawling to be banned across offshore MPAs on a whole site basis.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is essential to manage bottom trawling in our Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) appropriately due to the significant damage it can have on protected seabed habitats. The department is considering next steps in the context of our domestic and international nature conservation obligations and how we support the fishing sector.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to end the use of snare traps by 1st January 2025.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. As outlined in our manifesto, we will bring an end to the use of snare traps. We are considering the most effective way to deliver this commitment and will be setting out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answers of 12 August 2024 to Questions 1263 and 1675, what the most recent advice is that his Department has received from expert advisers on ending licenses for badger culling that have already been issued.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
On 30 August, the Government announced the start of work to refresh the Bovine TB strategy for England, to end the badger cull by the end of this parliament and drive down disease to save cattle and farmers’ livelihoods. This will be undertaken in co-design with farmers, vets, scientists and conservationists, ensuring a refreshed strategy continues to be led by the best scientific and epidemiological evidence and advice.
As part of this announcement, existing cull licences will be honoured to ensure clarity for farmers involved in these culls whilst new measures can be rolled out and take effect. This follows previous advice that the gap between the end of one form of badger disease control and the successful deployment of another, should be as narrow as possible to bank the maximum disease control benefits.
Further details can be found on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-end-badger-cull-with-new-tb-eradication-strategy.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 July 2024 to Question 957 on Animal Welfare, what his planned timetable is for banning the use of snare traps.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. As outlined in our manifesto, we will bring an end to the use of snare traps. We are considering the most effective way to deliver this commitment and will be setting out next steps in due course
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) horses and (b) ponies smuggled from the United Kingdom in each of last five years.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) defines a smuggled animal as one that is illegally exported. This means the animal is one that is not travelling on appropriate paperwork, has not been declared and/or is concealed.
By its very nature, robust data on the numbers of horses and ponies illegally smuggled out of the UK in the last five years is not readily available.
APHA only holds data for the period September 2023 to date for APHA Dover. In that period the APHA Dover team inspected 328 horses/ponies being exported (this includes transits from Ireland). 102 of those were found to be non-compliant. The non-compliance figure relates to Welfare in Transport and the Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations. 10 horses/ponies did not have the required export health certification.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is his policy to end licenses for badger culling that have already been issued.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the reply I gave to PQ 1263.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to ban the import and sale of fur.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
This Labour Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation.
Ministers are reviewing policies, which will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will produce an animal protection strategy.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The welfare of animals is currently protected by a suite of legislation including the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
The Government has committed to introducing the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. As outlined in their manifesto, the Government intends to ban trail hunting and the import of hunting trophies, to end puppy smuggling and farming and to stop the use of snare traps.
Ministers are considering the most effective way to deliver these commitments and will set out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to ban the use of farrowing crates for pigs.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 22 July 2024 to the hon. Member for Battersea, PQ UIN 414.