Thank you, Madam Presiding Officer. Good afternoon, First Minister.

1. What plans does the Welsh Government have to improve the welfare of farm animals in Wales? OAQ55109

Llywydd, I thank the Member for that question. Maintaining high levels of farm animal health and welfare has always been a key priority for successive Welsh Governments. Now that the United Kingdom has left the European Union, we are determined to ensure that we retain these high standards in Wales.

Thank you very much, First Minister, for the reply. CCTV has been mandatory in every abattoir in all areas in England where live animals are kept for slaughtering since 2018. Scotland announced plans for similar new laws last year. However, in Wales, 14 out of 24 slaughterhouses do not have cameras, although the Welsh Government has made money available for their installation. RSPCA Cymru and Animal Aid both support mandatory CCTV to deter abuse and to help vets with regulation and monitoring. First Minister, when will your Government make CCTV in abattoirs mandatory in Wales, please?

I thank the Member for that follow-up question. He makes a number of important points there. The Member will be aware, I am sure, of the £1.1 million food business investment scheme that we run as a Welsh Government. The latest round of applications to that fund are currently being assessed. They include a series of applications from abattoirs in Wales to install, upgrade or improve CCTV facilities at those abattoirs. When those applications have been assessed, the Minister will make a judgement as to whether or not we have sufficient coverage of CCTVs in Welsh slaughterhouses, to avoid the need for a mandatory scheme. But, if she concludes that we've not made the progress that we wanted to see on the voluntary basis, where the taxpayer is paying for CCTV to be installed, then she will think about whether mandation is the right way ahead. 

Anyone who watched Ffermio on S4C last night will know that the lambing season is upon us now, and it's an issue I've raised regularly in this Chamber, of course, namely this concern about dog attacks on sheep and lambs at this time of the year. Now, I've previously raised the need to tackle this, and the response I've heard is that the Government is doing more in order to promote awareness among dog owners on what needs to be done. Can you therefore give us an update, as we are coming to a key period now, where many newborn lambs will face the risk of dog attacks, on what exactly is the Government doing to raise that awareness among dog owners on their responsibilities in this area?

I thank Llyr for that question. Of course, the legal responsibility remains with the dog owner. That is what the 1953 legislation makes clear.

As a Government, we work closely with local authorities, with the RSPCA and others to make sure that owners of dogs are in no doubt about the responsibility that they have to ensure that they remain in control of animals if they take them into the countryside. It is a crime to allow dogs to worry farm animals in that way. Owning a dog is a privilege and not a right, and we work with others to make sure that the codes of practice that we have provided, in partnership with the industry, remind owners of their obligations to control their pets in those circumstances. 

First Minister, we're all concerned about animal welfare, and I've raised this question in the Chamber before about my concerns about live animal exports. Now that the UK Government have said that they will be stopping live animal exports, and we are now finally leaving the EU, will the Welsh Government commit today that they will be doing the same?

We supported the UK Government's call for evidence on a UK-wide ban in relation to the export of live animals for overseas slaughter. So, I think the Member can take it from that—that we supported the UK Government in that call for evidence on a UK-wide ban—that we would continue to support it in that way. We're working with DEFRA and the Scottish Government to determine the next steps now that that consultation has been concluded. In the meantime, the Welsh Government goes on enforcing the rules that govern the transportation of live animals on long journeys: rest periods, adequate access to feed and to water. But if there is to be a ban, and if it is to be a UK-wide ban, then we will support that.