Mary White (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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Question 367: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of licenses to snare badgers that have been issued since 1997 per annum and by area. [33284/08]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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My responsibilities under the Wildlife Acts relate to the conservation of populations of certain protected species including the badger. Badgers may not be hunted, injured or wilfully interfered with or their breeding place destroyed. However, the legislation enables me, as Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to issue a licence to a person to capture and humanely kill a protected wild animal for specified scientific or other purposes.

Since 2004, 30 licences have been issued annually to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food — one for each District Veterinary Office (DVO). There is one DVO per county, with the exception of County Cork, which has 3, and Counties Tipperary and Wicklow, which have 2 DVOs each.

Prior to 2004, licences were issued for each individual epidemiological investigation rather than by area. The distribution by county of these earlier licences is not available.

The licences permit taking of badgers for the purpose of carrying out necessary research into bovine tuberculosis in cattle and badgers. The badger has been identified as an important reservoir of Mycobacterium bovis, the bacterium that causes bovine tuberculosis (TB).

Licences issued in this regard are subject to strict conditions and must comply with the Part 3(d) of Wildlife Act 1976 (Approved Traps, Snares and Nets) Regulations 2003 which stipulates that a "stopped body restraint" must be used when capturing badgers.

A schedule of the number of licenses issued in the period 1997-2008 to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is given in the following table.