Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 1:48 pm on 17 July 2019.
I think people would have expected you to have been a little more proactive than saying that you're available to have discussions if people feel those discussions are necessary. In Ireland, they've gone out of their way to find this money, so I do think that that does perhaps suggest what the Government's attitude is to the situation as it currently exists.
One other area where people feel you should be more proactive is in tackling TB in cattle. We've seen the statistics, of course. We know that there was an increase last year—12,000 cattle were culled in Wales—that's 12,000 in Wales last year. Now, that's a statistic, of course, but, underneath those statistics, we know that there is an economic impact on those businesses and on the rural economy more broadly as a result of TB. There is a social impact, as we see the disease spreading further than anyone would wish to see it spread. And, of course, there is a personal impact, and that very often highlights itself in terms of mental health problems. Now, this, again, will be the subject of debate at the Royal Welsh Show next week. But one element that impacts a number of people in the sector is the feeling that Government isn't using every tool possible to tackle this disease. Hasn't the time now come, Minister, in light of the situation as it currently exists, for this Government to step up and to be willing to introduce a stronger element of a badger cull as part of your strategy? Do you accept that there is more that you could do? Because the sector certainly feels that way, and they also feel that the time has now come to do that.