Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

moved Amendment No. 293:"Page 18, line 23, at end insert—" ““(3)   In section 14 of the 1981 Act (introduction of new species etc.), for subsection (1) substitute— ““(1)   Subject to the provisions of this Part, if any person releases or allows to escape into the wild any animal which— (a)   is a native animal, or (b)   is a non-native animal, or (c)   is included in Part I of Schedule 9, or (d)   is a hybrid of any animal included in Part I of Schedule 9, he shall be guilty of an offence.”” (4)   In section 27(1) of the 1981 Act (interpretation of Part I), at the appropriate place insert— ““““native”” means, in relation to any plant or animal, a plant or animal the presence of which in any part of Great Britain is or would be within the past or present natural distribution of the species or sub-species in which it is taxonomically classified; ““non-native”” means in relation to any plant or animal, a plant or animal the presence of which in any part of Great Britain is or would be outside the past or present natural distribution of the species or sub-species in which it is taxonomically classified, where such natural distribution includes any part of Great Britain or otherwise; and directly results from or would directly result from any action of man; and includes any hybrid of any such plant or animal.”””” The noble Lord said: This amendment deals with the need for regulation of species reintroductions. I am sure we all agree that reintroduction can be a valuable conservation tool where the possibility of a species recolonising part of its natural or historic range is otherwise low, and can bring considerable benefits for conservation, community involvement and rural economies. Clause 47 gives legal protection to birds bred in captivity and released as part of a lawful reintroduction programme. That should close a loophole in the law. Currently it seems that almost any release is lawful. The purpose of the amendment is to provide a better definition of what constitutes a lawful reintroduction programme. If the amendment or something like it were accepted, we would expect licences to reintroduce species to be granted in only a relatively few cases where there is an obvious and significant conservation benefit such as achieving the objectives of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan and facilitating movement of organisms undergoing range change indirectly caused by human activity; for example, climate change. The object of the amendment is straightforward. Having tabled it, I was approached with some urgency by the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation, the CLA and the Game Conservancy Trust which pointed out that, as drafted, the amendment is unintentionally much too wide. I say that to save the Minister telling me that when she replies. As was pointed out by the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation, the amendment appears to prohibit the release of all native and non-native animals, including birds and fish, unless such release is specifically licensed. As part of their job, thousands of gamekeepers release pheasants, partridges and duck to replenish wild stocks for shooting. They also release non-target animals and birds from live capture traps set to control other species. It is clear that the amendment as drafted is unintentionally much too wide. However, it would be helpful if the Minister commented on its purpose rather than its drafting. As I say, its purpose is to provide a better definition of what constitutes the lawful reintroduction of species into the UK. At present it appears that almost any release can be classified as lawful, but that does not mean that all releases are beneficial to other native wildlife or represent the best use of conservation, time and resources. I beg to move.