Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 2:10 pm on 10 March 2021.
Minister, in your response to Mike Hedges there, you didn't mention the welfare of animals in zoos and animal attractions around Wales. You'll be familiar with the fact that I've been calling for some time now for a zoos support fund in Wales. They've got them in other parts of the United Kingdom and, indeed, elsewhere in Europe, but Wales is yet to establish a zoos support fund in order to ensure that animals in our zoos during this lockdown period can get the high-quality welfare that they deserve without those organisations having to raid their reserves or their savings, which they put aside for investment in their businesses. Can you tell us what your latest thinking is on whether to establish a Welsh zoos support fund, particularly given that the fund would also ensure the important work that zoos and animal attractions do with regard to conservation and breeding, which is also now being affected as a result of the lack of a fund here in Wales?