Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

Let me clarify from the outset that I am the first ever UK Minister for biodiversity, international and national, so I am very much responsible for this area; that is why I am wearing my Countdown 2010 badge in respect of the European biodiversity target. I very much share the intention behind new clause 5 in respect of the preservation of bird species and concern about the trade in exotic birds. Powers are already available under existing EU legislation to enable the Secretary of State to protect exotic species from the consequences of unsustainable trade and to ensure that their welfare needs are properly addressed during transportation. It is a case not of needing new legislation, but of working with Europe and other countries to better implement the convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora, and the European regulations that flow from that. This proposal would insert a series of additional measures that at best overlap with and at worst contradict existing measures to regulate the trade in exotic species. In our view, adoption of the proposals would insert additional complexity that would confuse traders and administrators alike, thereby undermining the effectiveness of the existing controls on the trade in exotic birds. I appreciate that the capture and transportation of live birds in some countries leads to undue suffering, but ultimately it is for the Government of the exporting country to take the necessary corrective measures to regulate those activities. I shall look at what more we can do to encourage such action, partly to assist with curtailing the damaging illegal trade in birds, which I know is very active and which the hon. Member for South-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Paice) talked about. I could have gone on at length, but I hope that with that brief explanation he will withdraw his amendment. Amendment No. 5 seeks to limit the protection of nests that are reused by a limited number of birds to a period of five years from when the nest was constructed or last used. On the face of it, that appears sensible—what use is there in protecting a nest that has been abandoned and will never be used again?—but as we have heard from the hon. Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Randall), some birds, such as golden eagles, can use several nests and may return to a nest even if it looks as though it has been abandoned for some time. It is important to remember in this context that it is possible, as he said, to apply for a licence under section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 if there are good reasons for removing a nest that appears to be abandoned. Each application is considered on its merits, but it allows for development if it can be demonstrated that it is necessary to remove the nest. There is also a practical difficulty in accepting the amendment, or indeed any amendment that seeks to restrict protection to a particular period: how is it possible for an enforcement authority to know how long a particular nest has been abandoned? How do we know when to start counting? Not all nests of the birds protected by this new offence are observed all year round. I accept that there is a limited number of nests, for the reason that the hon. Member for Uxbridge gave, but not all of them are monitored all year round and there may be some difficulty in obtaining information to start the clock ticking. Finally, amendment No. 35 seeks to add three species to the three already listed. The three species are amber listed according to the World Conservation Union guidelines and they can all be spotted in my constituency; the choughs are pretty tricky but they have been spotted in recent years. The fact that they are amber listed means that they have unfavourable conservation status within Europe. However, there are signs that their populations in England and Wales are slowly increasing—including the barn owl; in my constituency, farmers are reporting seeing more of them around, as I am sure the hon. Member for Uxbridge will be pleased to hear. The three species proposed in the amendment return to the same nest, and will use it if it is still available. However, if it has been damaged or destroyed, they will build a nest nearby just as readily—more readily than the other three species, I am advised. As I explained in Committee, they are important species and they deserve to be protected, which is why it is already an offence to disturb them during the breeding season. I know that there are rogue elements who seek to disturb peregrine falcons, in particular, but I do not believe that it is appropriate to protect the nests of the species in the amendment all year round. To do so would require the monitoring of more than 6,000 sites, which is not realistic.