asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many cormorants have been killed under licence since the licensing regime began. [HL910]
Centralised and electronic recording of wildlife applications and licences began in this department in 2001. Since then 3,768 cormorants have been reported as killed under licence. The breakdown by calendar year is shown below.
Year (January-December) Number of cormorants reported killed under licence 2001 186 2002 190 2003 455 2004 580 2005 1623 January-August 2006 734
Figures for the period between August and December 2006 are currently unavailable. The mid-season licensee returns for this period are due in mid-January 2007.