11. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the Welsh Government’s role in protecting rare and endangered species in Wales? OAQ52856

I am committed to maintaining the protections and safeguards in the current EU standards of species protection and building on this through the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the Environment (Wales) Act 2016. We aim to embed nature recovery across all of our policies and programmes.

Of course, rare and endangered species are not just in the Welsh countryside. They are also resident in many of the zoos across Wales, including the Welsh Mountain Zoo, which is the national zoo of Wales, of course, in my own constituency. It has endangered species programmes that are working to conserve the red squirrel population, of course, which I am the species champion for, but also red pandas, snow leopards, chimpanzees and many other species. What action is the Welsh Government taking to support such conservation work, where there are globally threatened species that are resident in Welsh zoos, and what specific support is the Welsh Government doing with the Welsh Mountain Zoo in my own constituency?

I thank the Member for his question. I remember many childhood trips to the Welsh Mountain Zoo myself, and I know that you are a proud champion of the red squirrel, which can actually be found in your own constituency in Clocaenog. When I actually went to visit there on a brisk north Wales day earlier this year, the seven red squirrels that have been released in the forest were feeling quite camera-shy that day, and I unfortunately didn't get to see any of them. 

The Welsh Government is absolutely committed to supporting such projects, in terms of working with endangered species. I can't comment specifically in terms of the Welsh Mountain Zoo, but it's certainly something I'm willing to look into for the Member and perhaps to meet to discuss at a future date.