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 he has made of the population status and ecological role of European pine martens across the UK.

There are approximately 100-200 pine marten in England. This estimate is based on a recent pine marten reintroduction in the Forest of Dean and monitoring of records in Northumberland and Cumbria. There are also a few other scattered and sporadic records across the country, some of which are a result of unofficial releases. In 2024 two further pine marten reintroductions took place in Devon and Cumbria. However, as this was very recent and populations are not yet established, they have not been included in this population estimate.