Written question asked by Fiona O'Donnell (Labour) on Wednesday, 11 January 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 16 January 2012. It was answered by Lord Benyon (Conservative) on Tuesday, 17 January 2012 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Animal Welfare: Licensing

Question: (2) what assessment she has made of the level of illegal killing of cormorants;

Answer: DEFRA is currently undertaking a review of cormorant licensing policy in England. This review is assessing current licensing policy in relation to the management of cormorants where they are causing, or are likely to cause, serious damage to inland fisheries. As part of this review consideration is being given to the impact of any revision to the current policy on: cormorant populations in Special Protection Areas; the level of unlawful lethal control of cormorants; the adequacy of the Wetland Bird Survey in monitoring cormorant population trends in response to licensed killing; and the effectiveness of licensed killing of cormorants in reducing and preventing serious damage to fisheries.A document detailing the scope and aims of the review is available on the DEFRA website. The outcome of the review is expected to be published this summer.

Secondary information