Vol. 512 No. 3
165 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the statistics his Department has on the badger population in Waterford in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26045/99]
In the national survey of badgers carried out in 1995, the mean main sett density in County Waterford was estimated at 0.4 per square kilometre. The estimated number of social groups was 800. Based on biological information, the mean group size was estimated at 5.9 adults per group. This gave an estimated badger population of 4,720 in Waterford. The variation in the population from year to year is not known, but is unlikely to be of major proportions.
|
Year |
No. Removed |
|
1995 |
18 |
|
1996 |
29 |
|
1997 |
1 |
|
1998 |
51 |
|
1999* |
67 |
