Written question asked by Lord Moran (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Rooker (Labour) on Wednesday, 4 June 2008.

Animal Welfare: Wild Birds

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:Why they revised the criteria used to decide which species should be listed in Schedule 4 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Answer: The prohibition on the import of wild birds into the EU was extended in July 2007 and with this prohibition likely to remain in force for the foreseeable future the situation in the commercial trade of wild birds has changed. My department therefore revised the criteria for the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) assessment of species to be listed in Schedule 4. The list of species provided by the JNCC was considered in terms of the proportionality of the burden that registration of these species would place on keepers, balancing any conservation benefit that may arise from registration against the regulatory burden imposed by registration.

Secondary information