Clause 6 - Deer
Hunting Bill
3:15 pm
Mr Alun Michael (Minister of State (Rural Affairs), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Cardiff South and Penarth, Labour/Co-operative)
It is always difficult to deal with figures because they may vary from one year to another or may be interpreted in different ways. I suggest that we use the figures in the Burns report. The report estimates that there are 12,500 wild red deer in England and Wales, some 10,000 of which are found in the south-west of England, with 4,000 to 6,000 within the stag hunting countries on Exmoor, the Quantocks and mid-Devon. The Burns report estimates that about 1,000 deer need to be killed each year in the areas covered by the three hunts in order to maintain a stable population. That seems a reasonable basis from which to consider the issues.