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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to control populations of invasive non-native waterfowl.

George Eustice

Defra, in conjunction with the Great Britain Non-Native Species Secretariat, takes the problems and risks associated with non-native waterfowl very seriously. Since the 1990s Defra has commissioned and invested in a range of research projects, carried out by the Animal and Plant Health Agency, on invasive non-native waterfowl, including an assessment of the options for large-scale control and field trials of removal techniques for Egyptian geese. Additionally, best practice management guidelines have been published for Canada geese.

Since 2005 Defra has also supported the UK Ruddy Duck Eradication Programme, and recently, established an Invasive Species Action Plan for the sacred ibis, and is developing an action plan for zoos to reduce the risk of escapes of all species, including waterfowl.

Section 14(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it illegal to release or allow to escape into the wild, any animal or plant which is not ordinarily resident in Great Britain and is not a regular visitor to Great Britain in a wild state, or is listed in Schedule 9 to the Act. This applies to all animals including waterfowl. An amendment to the 1981 Act, introduced this year in the Infrastructure Act 2015, introduced the provision of Species Control Orders, which can be used to remove any non-native species where they cause significant threats to biodiversity, the water environment, human health or the economy, in cases where a voluntary approach with landowners has otherwise failed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase self-sufficiency in UK food production.

George Eustice

The UK’s current production to supply ratio is 76% for indigenous-type foods and 62% for all foods. This has remained steady over the last decade and is not low in the context of the last 150 years.

The Government is developing a 25 year food and farming plan to grow our food and farming industry. We want to export more and produce more for the domestic market. We aim to improve productivity and profitability through greater efficiency, the deployment of new technology and by building on the strong international reputation of the British brand at home and abroad.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many animals have been reportedly killed by big cats in the last five years.

Rory Stewart

During 2015 a calf and a dog were reported to have been killed by big cats. This information was provided by Natural England, which holds no further information about animals reported to have been killed in this way.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many big cat sightings have been reported in each of the last five years.

Rory Stewart

A total of 26 sightings of big cats in the wild have been reported to Natural England since 1 January 2010. This figure is broken down as follows:

2010 – 6

2011 – 4

2012 – 4

2013 – 6

2014 – 1

2015 – 5 (to date)

Please be aware that the above are only reports received and logged by Natural England. Other parties such as the Police may hold further records.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with representatives of countryside organisations on the effect of the numbers of badgers on numbers of hedgehogs.

Rory Stewart

Defra is working with partners to identify actions that will help the conservation of hedgehogs, particularly though the Terrestrial Biodiversity Group chaired by Natural England. The reasons for the decline of the hedgehog population are complex. Badgers are one of a number of potential factors in the decline in hedgehog numbers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to prevent diseases (a) contaminating and (b) spreading between horse chestnut trees.

Rory Stewart

Horse chestnut trees have been affected by two particular organisms in recent years; the horse chestnut leaf miner (Cameraria ohridella) and horse chestnut bleeding canker (Pseudomonas syringae pathovar aesculi).

These are both well established in Great Britain and statutory action to destroy affected trees would be impractical.

Forest Research has been involved in several studies to understand the nature of the organisms and their spread. This work has been used to develop recommendations for evidence-based disease management.

The UK Plant Health Risk Register helps to identify new and revised threats to horse chestnut trees and priority actions in response. In collaboration with EU partners we have taken actions to reduce the risk of damaging pests, such as the citrus longhorn beetle, being introduced and causing damage to horse chestnut trees.