...
AM:...The responsibilities around education of
the public are really important. The Cabinet Secretary touches
on the work that , the Member for Cardiff
North, has done around the postal workers union, as well, and
it is a huge responsibility when members of the public take on
owning an animal of whatever type. I, too, have been with
the
RSPCA on a drive-by and I was
overwhelmed, in some respects, by this one incident that we
looked at, where there were four dogs in this one particular
house, and the owner didn't have an idea at all about the
responsibilities on them to neuter the dogs and provide good
food for the dogs and a good home, and, in the end,
the
RSPCA ended up taking those dogs out of
that environment. But I always remember the inspector saying,
'I bet you I'll come back in a month's time and there'll be a
dog back in that house, and the process will be begun all over
again.' It is a huge responsibility to be a pet owner,
and, therefore, the job and role of educating people about
those responsibilities is a huge performance that Government
can undertake with the levers it has available to itself...
AM:...The RSPCA inspectorate to receive
statutory status is something I would very much support, but
of course the Wooler report was published, as you say, four
years ago, so I'm just wondering how much longer we need to
wait. Maybe you could tell us in response when you hope to
take decisive action on this...
AM (Cabinet
Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural
Affairs):...You talk about the RSPCA and the statutory status,
and I welcome your support for that. I'm certainly looking
into that very carefully. I mentioned
the RSPCA are doing a piece of
work. They've employed a person to do that, and I had a
discussion just last week with the RSPCA, and I do hope to be able to
make more of a decision and an announcement early in the new
year...
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