7. Will the Minister make a statement on the Government's strategy to tackle animal cruelty in South Wales West? OQ57190

Diolch. I launched our animal welfare plan for Wales on 4 November, which builds on our achievements since the devolution of animal welfare powers in 2006. It outlines how we will take forward the animal welfare commitments in our programme for government, and other measures to further improve animal welfare across Wales.

Thank you, Minister. Between August and October 2021, the RSPCA responded to 5,263 cases across Wales, which is an increase of 10.2 per cent on the same period last year. Of these cases, 463 were in the county of Swansea, in my region—the second highest of local authorities in Wales. And Neath Port Talbot, also in my region, had the fifth highest level in Wales, with 298 cases, which is an increase of 90 cases on the previous year. Does the Minister agree, therefore, that more needs to be done to tackle animal cruelty in South Wales West and, indeed, across Wales? And in light of the publication of new regulations on animal welfare, what additional funding has the Government allocated for local authorities to enable them to implement these regulations effectively? Thank you.

Thank you. It’s horrific to hear of the number of cases that the Member refers to, and I do want to pay tribute to the RSPCA and other charities and organisations who do an incredible amount of work in relation to this. My officials have worked very closely with local authority enforcement officers to see what we can do to improve training for them to, obviously, go out and when they’re dealing with these cases, and we’ve brought forward some training over a three-year project, which we’ve wholly funded. I will, obviously, have to look at whether I can continue to fund that when the project comes to an end. We, obviously, also work closely with the RSPCA, and they come forward with requests for support. We look at that on a case-by-case basis.