Puppies

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 2:40 pm on 16 December 2020.

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Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 2:40, 16 December 2020

So, as I think I mentioned to the Chair of the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee last week—and the chief veterinary officer is really keen that I push this point—we're going beyond Lucy's law, and it is about third-party sales. So, it will be brought forward before the end of this parliamentary term. I can't give you an exact timeline, but, as I say, we've only got three, four months now to enable us to do this. And, despite all the other calls on the team's time, we are on track still with our third-party sales legislation. 

You will have heard me say many times, Joyce, that the legislation on its own will not do everything we would want it to do, and that's why we've had the local authority dog breeding enforcement project too. We funded that and worked very closely with our local authorities. Llywydd, I would just like to remind people that we do, unfortunately, know that Christmas is traditionally a time for impulse purchases of puppies and kittens. I mentioned the #PawsPreventProtect social media campaign. We've relaunched that. We did that last year, ahead of Christmas, and we have relaunched that this week to remind people.