Ban on Shooting on Public Land in Wales

Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 2:40 pm on 26 September 2018.

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Photo of Andrew RT Davies Andrew RT Davies Conservative 2:40, 26 September 2018

Minister, I think it's a deeply regrettable decision that you have taken. In many vulnerable communities, there will be redundancy notices served to many employees who rely on the shooting industry to provide employment where few alternatives are available to them. So, by your actions, you will be helping to serve those redundancy notices, Minister.

But I'd like to ask you a simple question, if I may: NRW commissioned a report into this very subject, which cost them £45,000. Based on that report, an unanimous decision was taken at the board of NRW in July not to support the withdrawal or the licensing of shooting on public-owned land. You intervened as the Minister, which is your right as the Minister, as the owner of that land, to give them guidance to change that decision. So, can you confirm that this is a political decision that you have taken and is not based on the science, or if you have additional information, can you make that information available, because, clearly, the report that NRW commissioned, at a cost of £45,000, informed their decision that was unanimously backed by their board?