Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

I shall speak against the new clause because it significantly weakens clauses 43 to 45. It has been recognised that we need to take assertive action to deal with the problem of poisoned birds and wildlife generally. The deliberate use of pesticides to poison rare and threatened wildlife is a persistent problem and has serious ramifications for the health and safety of people, their pets and their livestock. There is little evidence that the problem has diminished, hence these clauses. There is a particularly serious threat to birds such as the red kite, one of Britain’s most popular birds of prey. It brings valuable tourist income to the country. Between 1989 and 2004, at least 106 red kites were found illegally poisoned, including 16 in 2003 alone. That is only a fraction of the total number of incidents. English Nature estimates that 31 per cent. of English red kites released or fledged from the wild between 1989 and 1999 were illegally poisoned. It is not only red kites that have been affected. In 2003, 20 buzzards, seven peregrines and one white-tailed eagle were confirmed as poisoned. Illegal poisoning does not only affect wildlife. Stores of pesticides and baits placed in the countryside are a danger to people, companion animals, working dogs and livestock. Recently, a gamekeeper in Dorset was found to have an arsenal that consisted of a range of agricultural pesticides for which a man in his profession could have no legitimate use.