I don't doubt your sincerity in not wanting to compromise animal welfare, but, of course, there is a risk that the whole Brexit process will undermine that. Because we in Plaid Cymru want to see Wales as one of the world leaders in animal welfare and we want to see that continue after the significant challenges that will be posed to animal welfare by Brexit, because the EU regulations, of course, on welfare standards are among the highest in the world and we need to make sure that those standards are upheld and implemented, and it's crucial that Brexit doesn't lead to a race to the bottom on animal welfare standards. And the best way, of course, in which we could protect the welfare of animals in Wales is to stay in the EU or, at the very least, to stay in the single market and the customs union.

Now, nearly 50 per cent of veterinary surgeons registering in the UK qualified elsewhere in the EU. Within meat hygiene services, it's estimated that more than 80 per cent of the veterinary workforce is made up of non-British EU citizens across the UK. I actually think it's closer to—if not actually—100 per cent here in Wales. So, following Brexit, we'll need to ensure a sufficient number of veterinary professionals to safeguard the welfare of both farm and companion animals and this includes, of course, safeguarding animal welfare in slaughterhouses.

Now, Plaid Cymru supports the slaughter and processing of animals as close as possible to where they're reared. This benefits both their welfare and the local rural economy and, of course, has environmental benefits in terms of reduced emissions from not needing to transport the animals such long distances. Support will be needed for the food and drink sector following Brexit, and that means from farmers to slaughterhouses to the food processors as well so that we can safeguard animal welfare and that we can make sure that Welsh produce has that strong brand that we all want it to have, which signifies the high standards that we're so proud of.

CCTV surveillance has an important role to play in ensuring conformity with current regulations relating to animal welfare. However, it also needs to be borne in mind that slaughterhouses in Wales tend to be small businesses and that legislating on mandatory use of CCTV would clearly need to be done in conjunction with providing additional support for these small businesses.

A key approach that could secure significant improvements in animal welfare, of course, is informed consumer choice, and this picks up on a point made previously about labelling. The BVA is calling for mandatory methods of production labelling of meat and dairy products and there are currently, I think, seven main farm assurance schemes—a few of them were listed earlier—each having a different criteria, and the lack of clarity, therefore, about whether animals are stunned before slaughter isn't addressed as maybe they should do in that respect.

Now, the BVA's Voice of the Veterinary Profession survey found that 94 per cent of vets believe UK consumers of meat and fish should be better informed about slaughter methods. There's also significant public support for clearer labelling generally: 80 per cent of EU consumers want labelling that clearly shows which farm system was used to produce their meat and dairy product. And, as stated by the BVA, and I quote, mandatory production food labelling

'could offer post-Brexit UK food producers and farmers a unique selling point by providing consumers with the clear welfare labelling they want.'

And I would encourage the Cabinet Secretary to pursue that in terms of where we want to go here in Wales. Welsh farmers can compete with anywhere in the world on standard and on the quality of their produce, and that needs to be reflected in the way that their food is marketed, branded and labelled.

There is a real risk that Brexit will lead to the Welsh market being flooded by lower quality produce, with zero regard, potentially, for animal welfare, and that certainly isn't where we want to go. I'd like to say that we—and as I said yesterday, actually, in response to the Cabinet Secretary's statement on animal welfare—support action on third-party puppy sales, and, in that respect, we certainly would urge the Welsh Government to take decisive action on that also.