- Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary
for Climate Change and Rural Affairs: Our Animal Welfare Plan for
Wales 2021-26 was published in November 2021. It sets out how
we will deliver our Programme for
Governmentcommitments and other priorities for animal
welfare. Our ambition is for all animals in Wales to have a good
quality of life. This is a strategic objective of
our Wales Animal Health and Welfare
Framework, which forms the foundations on which our five-year
Animal Welfare Plan has been developed.
A report has been
published on the progress we made throughout 2024 in delivering
our priorities for animal welfare here in Wales. This follows
earlier reports on the progress we made in 2022 and 2023.
I am proud that we continue to build on all that we have achieved
so far.
We have delivered on our commitment to require CCTV in all
slaughterhouses during this Government's term. New regulations
setting out what slaughterhouse operators must now do came into
force in June 2024.
We supported the ban on live export of cattle, sheep, goats,
pigs and equines for slaughter, or for fattening, beginning in or
transiting through Great Britain. Regulations to enforce the
ban came into force in January 2025.
We received over one thousand responses to our consultation
on the licensing of animal welfare establishments,
activities and exhibits, which concluded in March 2024.
A summary of the
responses was published in December 2024. Our response to the
consultation and next steps were published June 2025, marking
a significant milestone in our commitment to improving animal
welfare standards across Wales.
We are moving forward with a ban on greyhound racing.
As announcedearlier this year,
we are establishing an Implementation Group to guide this
transition, ensuring the welfare of racing dogs and supporting
affected communities. Legislation to deliver this commitment will
be brought forward in the autumn.
The Welsh Government funded Animal Licensing Wales, a
Local Authority enforcement project, continues to deliver
for animal health and welfare, and last year earned a
prestigious RSPCA special recognition
award. We have awarded Animal Licensing Wales a significant
funding extension for 2025/2026.
Our responsible dog breeding and ownership work has brought
together Local Authorities, police forces and campaigners for dog
welfare. Workshops throughout 2024 focused on identifying
issues and emerging trends, capturing actions, and developing
strategies to address challenges. They provided a platform for
stakeholders to share insights and collaborate on solutions. We
held our second annual multi-agency
summit on responsible dog breeding and ownership in October
2024.
Partnership working is essential to our success. I am grateful to
all those stakeholders and agencies instrumental to the progress
we have made so far. I look forward to achieving more together in
the year ahead.
