Borth Zoo

Part of 5. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:09 pm on 15 November 2017.

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Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 3:09, 15 November 2017

Thank you. As I said to Simon Thomas, I share many of your concerns and his concerns in relation to this incident—or two incidents. If I could just say a bit about how licences are given. If there is an application for a licence, a zoo would be inspected by a team. That would include at least one or two inspectors that are on the Secretary of State's list. We do have input. Obviously, licences are devolved to Wales, however this is a system that was set up back in the 1970s. But we do have, as a Government, input into that list via the Animal and Plant Health Agency. Once the licence has been applied for, that's who it would be inspected by: at least one inspector from that list. They could be vets or they could be inspectors who have been nominated by the Secretary of State after a request by a local authority. Formal inspections are also undertaken before a licence is renewed or if there is a significant change to a licence, but I absolutely agree that we need to review the process that we have. I also wanted to add that Ceredigion County Council's decision to authorise the humane destruction of the animal on 10 November was an operational one, which was taken after the receipt of expert advice based on the level of risk to members of the public rising from moderate to severe.