Seal conservation is a devolved issue so I can only respond with respect to England.<\/p>
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No licences to cull seals have been issued in England since 2010.<\/p>
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This means that no permission has been granted for any common or grey seals to be taken or killed out of season. All common seals and the majority of grey seals are protected all year-round through a conservation order in the East of England.<\/p>
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The government has not, however, made an assessment of the number of seals which may have been killed off the English coast, notwithstanding the licensing and conservation order protections.<\/p>
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<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4137", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Rory Stewart"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Penrith and The Border"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Rory Stewart"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2015-06-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2015-06-02T08:19:19.883Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2015-05-28", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Seals"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the number of seals killed off the coast of the UK in each year since 2010.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4212", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Debbie Abrahams"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Oldham East and Saddleworth"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Debbie Abrahams"} ], "uin" : "393"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/347346", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/347346/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Barn Owl was surveyed as part of the British Trust for Ornithology 2007-11 Bird Atlas for Britain and Ireland and populations are also monitored annually by the BTO/Joint Nature Conservation Committee/Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Consequently Defra has no present plans to repeat these surveys.<\/p>
Surveys suggest that the Barn Owl was declining during much of the twentieth century. However the 2007-11 Bird Atlas indicates a 67% increase in distribution since the last atlas for 1988-91. In addition the annual Breeding Bird Survey indicates that numbers increased by 277% in the UK between 1995 and 2012 and 273% for England. The increase is believed to result from the provision of nest boxes, mild winters and the sympathetic management of suitable feeding habitat through agri-environment schemes.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4137", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Rory Stewart"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Penrith and The Border"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Rory Stewart"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2015-06-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2015-06-04T12:40:20.48Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2015-05-28", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Owls: Surveys"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will repeat the national barn owl surveys of 1982-85, 1995-97 and 2000-09; and if she will make a statement.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1490", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mrs Madeleine Moon"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Bridgend"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mrs Madeleine Moon"} ], "uin" : "380"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/346984", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/346984/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Through the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the Government is working with food manufacturers and retailers to meet targets to reduce food waste from households and the grocery supply chain under the Courtauld Commitment. There has been a 15% (1.3 million tonnes) reduction in household food waste since 2007 and signatories reported a reduction of 7.4% in food supply chain waste since 2010. The third phase of the Courtauld Commitment targets a further 1.1 million tonnes of food and packaging waste reduction by the end of this year.<\/p>
The Love Food Hate Waste programme helps UK households to reduce food waste and save money through awareness raising and consumer advice. There is also an agreement with the hospitality sector with targets to prevent and manage food waste in restaurants, pubs and canteens.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4137", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Rory Stewart"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Penrith and The Border"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Rory Stewart"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2015-06-01", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2015-06-01T12:40:49.663Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2015-05-27", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Food: Waste"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage reductions in food wastage.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4131", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jim Shannon"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Strangford"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Jim Shannon"} ], "uin" : "62"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/346988", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/346988/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Like all wild birds, the bittern is protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Under this Act it is an offence to kill or injure any wild bird; take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while that nest is in use or being built; and take or destroy an egg of any wild bird.<\/p>
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Bittern habitat is also protected and improved through being designated and managed as Special Protection Areas under the EU Habitats Directive, and as Sites of Special Scientific Interest.<\/p>
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In 1994 Natural England (then English Nature) initiated a Bittern Recovery Programme. By 2012 restoration of approximately 2500 hectares of bittern reed-bed habitat at 80 sites across the UK had been achieved. This resulted in an increase of bittern numbers, from a 1997 low of 11 males to a high of 140 males in 2014.<\/p>
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