asked the Secretary of State for the Environment which article or annex of directive 79/409 on the conservation of wild birds authorises either the taking of gannets for human consumption or the sale of this species for human consumption; and if he will make a statement.

Member states may make a derogation under article 9 from the provisions of articles 5, 6, 7 and 8. Such a derogation was made in 1984 and a licence issued permitting up to 2,000 gannets to be killed for home consumption.