The following amendment has been selected: amendment 1 in the name of Lesley Griffiths.

The next item today is the Welsh Conservatives debate on the regulation of animal rescue and rehoming centres. I call on Samuel Kurtz to move the motion.

Motion NDM7840 Darren Millar

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Believes that a pet is for life, not just for Christmas or a special occasion.

2. Notes that there are an unknown number of animal rescue and rehoming centres in Wales.

3. Further notes the Welsh Government’s Animal Welfare Plan for Wales 2021-26.

4. Calls on the Welsh Government to make amendments to the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Wales) Regulations 2021 to:

a) introduce regulations for rescue and rehoming centres and sanctuaries in Wales, including those operating online, by 2023;

b) require any individual rehoming more than three animals over a 12-month period to declare their activities and obtain a licence from their local authority;

c) ensure minimum training, staffing and environmental standards for all centres to meet to ensure the welfare of animals in their care.

Motion moved.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I move the motion in the name of Darren Millar and it gives me great pleasure to do so, as Wales is a nation of animal lovers. 

Due to the pandemic, many of us have spent more time at home than usual. For me, I had man's best friend in my lockdown bubble—my trusted yet yappy Jack Russell Terrier, Cadi. The challenges of the last 18 months were made easier by having those walks along the coast with Cadi, and I know countless other people and families welcomed new furry additions into their homes throughout the pandemic. Just as we see every Christmas, there was a sharp surge in the number of households that purchased a lockdown puppy or quarantine cat. It is estimated by the Pet Food Manufacturers Association that a total of 3.2 million households in the UK have acquired a pet since the start of the pandemic.  

However, as the novelty of owning a canine companion or feline friend wore off, a worrying number of owners realised the commitment that comes with providing a pet with their forever home. And so, it fell on Wales's animal rescue and rehoming centres to provide a haven to those pets whose owners couldn't or wouldn't look after them any longer. Whilst many owners were sensible in contacting their local rehoming centres, there were some truly horrific instances whereby owners were dumping their once-beloved pets on the sides of quiet country lanes, in the hope that their misjudged lockdown purchases could be easily forgotten and erased.

Unfortunately, this was not an uncommon occurrence. Up and down Wales, there are rescue centres and sanctuaries that have now reached a crisis point. RSPCA Cymru highlight that the 998 cases of pet abandonment that have occurred in the first 10 months of this year have already surpassed the total amount for the whole of 2020. This demonstrates the increasing pressures on centres that are struggling to meet the demand. Not only does today's motion highlight the important work of these centres, but it also calls on the Welsh Government to strengthen existing animal welfare regulations to address these situations. It also recognises the growing pressures placed on the animal sanctuaries and rehoming centres across Wales and seeks to safeguard the welfare of those animals in their care.

I would certainly like to take this opportunity to broadly welcome the Minister's latest animal welfare plan for Wales 2021-26. However, and as this motion explains, we share the sector's view that this plan does not go far enough in its attempts to safeguard the welfare of animals in Wales. In the 15 years that this place has had the relevant powers, successive Welsh Labour Governments have failed to deliver on a clear strategy that addresses the root causes of today's animal welfare problems. This motion seeks to reinforce the animal welfare sector's calls to regulate Wales's currently unknown number of animal rescue and rehoming centres and sanctuaries, but it places a specific focus on those that operate online. However, we also seek to implement a strict timeline in which this can be achieved. 

Like many in this sector, these benches were incredibly disappointed with the Welsh Government's lack of urgency on this matter. And as a result, we have fallen behind our Scottish and English counterparts. That is why our motion commits this Government to a regulatory introduction by 2023. Any delay in regulating rescue and rehoming activity risks compromising the welfare of all household pets. But not just this. Further delay risks those loopholes in current dog breeding and pet sales legislation from being further exploited by those wishing to make a quick profit from the inhumane sale of animals.  

And lastly, and arguably most importantly, this motion places a statutory duty on all rehoming centres to meet minimum training, staffing and environmental standards. We need to ensure that those who care for abandoned animals have the necessary knowledge, support and assistance to do so. But it also ensures that animals in their care are safeguarded against those who may wish, with the best intentions, to offer sanctuary, but unfortunately cannot give the standard of care and attention that these animals deserve or require. The very last thing that we wish to see here in Wales is our own Tiger King-style animal sanctuary. This motion welcomes the broad themes of the Welsh Government's five-year animal welfare plan, but it also goes beyond what is currently proposed, and, by working with the animal welfare sector, improves the standards of service that can be offered.

Dirprwy Lywydd, the very first event that I sponsored in this Senedd was for the Companion Animal Welfare Group Wales, which is being expertly chaired by former Member Bethan Sayed. I was delighted to see such a strong cross-party representation from all benches at the event, highlighting the political will to strengthen this area of Welsh law. This motion has been crafted in unison with the Companion Animal Welfare Group and a whole range of key industry stakeholders. So, let us be the voice for the voiceless and vote to improve animal welfare here in Wales. Diolch. 

I have selected the amendment to the motion. I call on the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, Lesley Griffiths, to move formally the amendment tabled in her name.

Amendment 1—Lesley Griffiths

Delete point 4 and add new points:

Recognises the vital work of local authority animal welfare inspectors as fundamental in upholding high animal welfare standards.

Calls on the Welsh Government to:

a) introduce regulation for animal welfare establishments in Wales, such as rescue and rehoming centres and sanctuaries, including those operating online;

b) develop arrangements to safeguard minimum training, staffing and environmental standards to ensure the welfare of animals in animal welfare establishments;

c) improve the qualifications for animal welfare inspectors to raise their professional status;

d) support local authorities to strengthen their resilience to help manage the uneven distribution of animal welfare establishments across Wales;

e) publicly consult on how individuals rehoming animals should declare their activities under licence from their local authority.

Amendment 1 moved.

Formally.

I wanted to say a short word in this debate this afternoon. If I look back over the years that I've served in this place, concerns about some animal shelters and rescue establishments are one thing that I saw in Mid and West Wales, and I see today in Blaenau Gwent. I see people who are genuinely distressed by the things that they have witnessed. I see people who have done their best to support rescue centres but feel that they have been taken advantage of, and centres that simply are cruel. And we need to do something about it.

We have a responsibility, I believe, to act on this matter. Wednesday afternoons are well known in this place for talking. I think that we have talked enough. I was disappointed to see the Government amendment to this motion, which deleted the commitment to legislate and to bring in regulations by 2023. I'm looking to the Minister for a very clear and convincing explanation of why that is. Those of us who campaigned on Lucy's law in the last Senedd were exceptionally frustrated and disappointed with the time that it took the Government to act on this matter, and we do not want to enter this new Senedd with more frustration about the Government's inability to act on these matters. So, I think that we will be looking for very clear explanations for that.

I have seen too much suffering in these establishments to remain silent and to remain unmoved by these matters. So, I hope that we will be able to ensure that we have the law in place—and the law in the right place—to ensure that we do have the regulatory regime that meets the highest possible welfare standards at all times in the future. But, more than that, I believe that we do need then to have the regulatory mechanisms in place to ensure that the law can be properly delivered.

One of the things that I've witnessed in Blaenau Gwent is a local authority that is simply unable to provide the regulation that is needed. Members across the Chamber will know that I believe that the Senedd as a whole lets down people in Wales every time it allows small authorities like Blaenau Gwent to get away with not serving the people of the borough. In these matters, I have seen for long enough the borough being unable—simply without the resource—to deliver effective regulation of these establishments.

So, I hope, Minister, that we will be able to be reassured that we have in place the law. And then I hope that we will be able to be reassured that we will have in place the means of delivering the law. At the moment, I don't believe that, in many parts of Wales, we have either in place. So, certainly looking ahead, across the future in this Senedd, I will want to see not just a regulatory regime, but I will want to see the resources that deliver that regulation wherever it is needed. Thank you.

It's a pleasure to take part in the debate this afternoon. As a nation of pet lovers, we should have the most stringent animal welfare standards in the world. Sadly, the reality is far from it. As with many things, the Welsh Government has good intentions. Its animal welfare plan, while widely welcomed, even on this side of the Chamber, lacks any sense of urgency. It's a step in the right direction but a step behind other UK nations. As the Companion Animal Welfare Group Wales highlight, delays in implementing standards for rescue and rehoming centres risk the loopholes that exist in current legislation being exploited, to the detriment of companion animals. We need tough welfare measures to ensure companion animals are protected.

Whilst the vast majority of companion animals are well looked after, there are still those who mistreat animals, sometimes through malice, but often simply because they are unable to cope, which is why we have nearly 100 animal sanctuaries in Wales in the first place. Neglect can often happen because pet owners were simply unprepared for pet ownership. The pandemic, together with its work-from-home restrictions saw an explosion in companion animal ownership. Dog ownership saw a massive increase. People seeking companionship brought a new dog or cat into their lives, but as the economy started to open back up, so did the return to the office. Animals went from having their owners around 24/7 to being abandoned for half the day. Many new owners couldn't cope, and we saw a massive uptake in demand for rehoming services—rehoming services that are largely unregulated and unmonitored.

While the vast majority of these animal sanctuaries provide a vital service and maintain high welfare standards, sadly not all do. Sanctuaries and rescues are not subject to regulation, which essentially means that anyone can set one up, regardless as to whether they have the skills or resources needed to care for animals. Even well-run sanctuaries can fail. In my hometown of Prestatyn, a rescue centre that had been operating for decades—the Abandoned Animals Association—recently went out of business, leading to many animals needing to be urgently rehomed, yet there is nothing stopping me setting up a sanctuary tomorrow, if I wanted to. However, a worse proposition than me running a cat or dog home is allowing an unlicensed cat or dog breeder to operate a rescue centre in order to hide their real modus operandi.

To bypass the laws prohibiting third-party sales of kittens and puppies, we are behind the rest of the UK in taking steps to close this loophole, just as we are behind when it comes to microchipping kittens. If the Welsh Government has more than good intentions, it must take action to protect the welfare of companion animals in Wales. After all, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but heaven is built on good works. Companion animals need us to act on their behalf, and I urge Members to support our motion this afternoon. Thank you very much.

I'm very grateful for the opportunity to discuss this important issue today, namely animal welfare. It's an issue that I'm sure each and every one of us believes is important, because our constituents are of course very concerned about this issue. Indeed, data from 2019 suggests that a quarter of the Welsh population owns a cat and one in three is a dog owner—the feline friends and the canine companions, as Sam Kurtz referred to earlier.

However, one could argue that many of the laws relating to the trading of companion animals are very dated now. Selling pets online, for example, is something that couldn't have been imagined by those who drafted the companion animal legislation back in 1951, 70 years ago. The world has changed so much since that legislation was passed.

Plaid Cymru has called consistently on the Government to work with stakeholders to build on the high level of animal welfare that is already in place in Wales, and for that reason, Plaid Cymru will support the Conservative motion today, as it does reflect those principles in full and calls for further action from the Welsh Government that will have a positive impact on animal welfare.

The pandemic, of course, has had a huge impact on the capacity and funding of a number of animal welfare organisations the length and breadth of the country. For example, the Dogs Trust in Bridgend saw a reduction of 44 per cent in rehoming rates for dogs, whilst the demand for rehoming had increased by 73 per cent between April 2020 and March 2021—that's a very significant increase indeed.

Likewise, there was a significant impact on the dogs' school education programme because of the pandemic. The number of owners that participated in training programmes in 2020 was reduced by 73 per cent as compared to the previous year. The sector, therefore, needs our support to help them to reach out to communities across Wales to safeguard animal welfare. And although I welcome the Welsh Government animal welfare plan, the sector has concerns in terms of rescuing animals from harm and the rehoming centres, specifically in terms of the timelines outlined and the lack of urgency.

Dirprwy Lywydd, any delay in regulating rescue and homing activity compromises the welfare of dogs and cats, risks the loopholes in current dog breeding legislation continuing and undermines the effectiveness of pet vending laws, prohibiting third party sales and puts Wales behind other UK nations, as we've already heard. Some in the sector are concerned that this issue is being pushed into the long grass, when urgency is needed to protect the welfare of companion animals in Wales. And I'm also concerned, as mentioned by Alun Davies previously, that local authorities, who are often also on the front line when it comes to monitoring and enforcing animal welfare matters, may not have the human or financial capacity to help execute their duties effectively. So, while the guidance surrounding Wales's new pet selling licensing scheme is welcome, there's been little indication as to how local authorities will be supported financially. As their portfolio of animal welfare-related responsibilities will likely continue to increase following the publication of the animal welfare plan for Wales, and with legislation like the UK Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill on the horizon, we must ensure, therefore, that local authorities are equipped with adequate funding and resources.

To close, I look forward to hearing other contributions across the Siambr during this debate, and hope the Government's response will outline how they intend to tackle the postcode lottery of animal welfare services across Wales, which is becoming increasingly evident. Diolch yn fawr.

I'd like to thank my colleague Sam Kurtz for bringing this debate to the Chamber; it's very important for all the hard work he does for animals outside of this Chamber as well.

Now, for years, I've always wanted to have a pet cat or dog. I remember at the age of nine going on a religious pilgrimage with my mother, who said to me in the most holy place considered to many on earth, 'Natasha, during this pilgrimage, whatever you ask God for, you will get it.' I stood there, all of nine years old, looked up at the sky and said, 'God, I want a cat.' Spoiler alert: I did not get the cat. But there have been at least 10 opportunities following where I could have had one.

The reason why I never actually got a cat or dog was simply because I was told by my parents, 'Natasha, a pet is for life, it's not just going to be for your birthday or for Christmas.' Growing up, like many of you who have children or those Members who are perhaps not in the Chamber with us today, like you, my parents both worked full time, and they were very much of the belief that if we were not at home, and I was at school at the time, it would cause distress to the animal being left at home alone for many hours in the day, and that was not something that any of us could have lived with. I'm currently trying very hard right now to convince my mother that we need a dog, and have almost succeeded, so I'll keep you posted as to whether that happens or not.

For years, I've held tremendous respect for the charities and sanctuaries all across Wales and all across the United Kingdom, and I truly, from every ounce of my soul, commend all of the staff who work tirelessly to protect animals of all shapes and sizes and from all backgrounds.

Last Thursday, I had the greatest pleasure of visiting RSPCA's Newport animal centre. I saw some animals who had really suffered a lot due to negligence and sheer violence at the hands of humans, and my heart truly bled for them. They may not have been able to speak up for themselves, but it's key that every single one of us as politicians speak up for them, not just members of the public, but for animals as well. 

Like its other centres, the Newport animal centre complies with rigorous welfare standards, and the RSPCA has long called for a wider regulatory framework for animal welfare in Wales. This includes the licensing of sanctuaries, rehoming centres and also other establishments. We are holding this debate today to regulate these establishments to offer legal protection to the animals inside Wales's estimated 90 sanctuaries.

Unlike other establishments, such as riding schools, dog breeders and cat boarders, sanctuaries and rescues are not currently subject to regulations. Essentially, as my colleague Gareth Davies said, this means that anyone can set one up, regardless of whether they have the skills or resources needed to care for animals, which is really worrying for someone like myself.

I wish to put on record from the outset that I recognise the invaluable work that sanctuaries often do to rehabilitate and rehome animals. However, it is vital that basic training is provided, and standards for all animal centres are set in stone to ensure that the welfare of animals in their care is of a decent level and standard. But the lack of safeguards that exist to protect the welfare of animals in these establishments, which can be set up with no inspection or legal requirement for strong welfare standards and contingency plans, is simply not acceptable and cannot be sustainable. Well-meaning people can quickly find themselves out of their depth, highlighted by the sad fact that some sanctuary failures have occurred in Wales in the past year. In the last decade, the RSPCA have been forced to undertake over 10 prosecutions due to inadequate care in sanctuaries. Many of the animals who find themselves in need of sanctuary or rescue require specialist care and an acute understanding of their complex needs after having gone through their traumatic circumstances. As well as having staff that meet these criteria, expertise is needed to ensure that these establishments are financially sound and tick all of the boxes with regard to ensuring the health and safety of the animals within them.

Therefore, Deputy Presiding Officer, solid governance arrangements and having contingency plans for when things go wrong are vital for the running of a successful sanctuary. I believe wholeheartedly that we need to regulate sanctuaries to plug the current gap, ensuring that the high standards of animal welfare are compulsory rather than voluntary. Thank you.

May I thank Sam Kurtz for bringing forward this debate to the Siambr today? Thank you very much, Sam.

If I can start from a personal perspective, I've spoken about my own eight-year-old rescue dog Arthur, who was a racing greyhound. Arthur came to us when he was six, he was in a pretty bad state. That was down to the fact that he had been a racing greyhound, where they are very cruelly treated, and also in relation to the rescue home, where they were doing their best in order to look after him. Many, I know, across this Chamber, want to see greyhound racing banned, and that's for another day, but we can't actually take that step until we know that those dogs and others will be properly cared for. So, I was very surprised to hear that there is no legislation currently in place in Wales and that we are really behind other nations in the UK on this issue.

I will be supporting the legislative whatever-it-is—debate by the Conservatives today, and I won't be supporting the amendments, because I feel it's so important that we have a timeline in there. I do, of course, welcome the new animal welfare plan, but I echo the concerns of animal welfare organisations who are really concerned about those tangible deadlines. Knowing what I know now about the conditions and illnesses that racing greyhounds suffer, stronger regulation and support for those rescue and rehoming centres are absolutely essential. They don't just benefit the animals, but they are of benefit to those organisations and staff who are trying to do the right thing.

Let me tell you another story, the owner of the Whispering Willows equine rescue centre in south-west Wales inherited some money and set up a horse rescue centre. She said she wanted to follow her dream of looking after horses, and she took in 137 of them. When she was asked about her expertise in keeping horses, she described herself as no expert, but with some general knowledge. She said she ran the rescue centre through some donations, but mostly her own money. In 2021, several of those horses sadly had to be euthanised because of illness and malnourishment. That is what we need to stop. Training, support and standards are incredibly important for the animals and the staff and for our local authorities to have that strength to be able to ensure that our centres are not overwhelmed by either the number of animals or their health and care needs and that staff receive the recognition and support that they need needs to deliver the best care possible. So, diolch yn fawr iawn eto ichi, Sam. Thank you for bringing this debate forward. Can I urge the Government once again to think again about agreeing to some firm timescales for the introduction of these regulations? And I speak today on behalf of Arthur. Thank you. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

We've heard about Cadi, we've heard about Arthur; I want to tell you about a member of my family: Blue, the rescue whippet from North Clwyd Animal Rescue. We picked him up 11 years ago; he was a thin and scrawny thing, nine months old, and when we got him home, he stretched his little legs out on the carpet in the lounge, two legs forward, two legs back, like a draught excluder, and we fell in love with him, as many people do when they pick up their pets.

Blue is one of 1,900 animals that the North Clwyd Animal Rescue centre rehome each and every year. It was founded in 1978 by a lady called Anne Owen, and she started off with a thin lurcher; a thin, scrawny dog, and it now rehomes that many animals. I think they do a tremendous job, and there are many excellent examples of animal rescue centres, of course, across the whole of Wales. Another in my constituency is the RSPCA's animal centre in Bryn-y-Maen just outside Colwyn Bay. I can remember very well seeing a hedgehog, a baby hedgehog, in distress on the roundabout near my office in work; it was panting away in the heat of the day, clearly going to walk into the road and be a familiar flat sight in the way that many hedgehogs unfortunately are, but I scooped it up in my flat cap, stuck it on my lap, and off I drove to the Bryn-y-Maen Animal Centre and they gave me advice and he was eventually released in the wild. He was 9g when he arrived in the centre; he had some medical treatment and was released just a few weeks later; it was enormous when it reached 1kg in weight, so goodness knows what they were feeding it; probably the same stuff that I'm eating for most of the time.

Then of course, there's the work of the Welsh Mountain Zoo in Colwyn Bay, which very often takes in animals and rescues them, particularly exotic animals that nobody else has experience of being able to care for. We've had all sorts of animals traipsing their way across Colwyn Bay over the years, including parrots, tortoises, lizards, all sorts that have been taken in by the zoo and they do a wonderful job. They also, of course, rescue wild animals as well; they have a grey seal rescue centre there, so they, too, do a good job.

But the thing about the RSPCA, the North Clwyd Animal Rescue centre and the Welsh Mountain Zoo is they all abide by the very highest standards of animal welfare. People can go there with confidence, knowing that if they take a stray animal in or an animal that's in distress, it will be cared for well; it will be gotten back on its feet—if it's got feet—and then, rehomed into an appropriate environment. And of course, they vet everybody that comes in that asks to rehome an animal, and that's the sort of quality we should aspire to in every single part of the country. It's a travesty that there is no registration system for animal rescue centres in Wales, that we don't know where these rescue centres are, and that puts animals at risk, and none of us want that to be the case.

I'm glad that the Government, I know, is on the same page with us in terms of this; it is a bit disappointing that they've tabled an amendment without a clear timescale for implementing some change, but it's an amendment which is nevertheless very similar to our original motion, so I can see that this is something that the Minister does want to address. And if I may, just in closing, just refer to some of the consequences of poor animal welfare rules or inappropriate animal welfare rules: I was contacted—slightly off topic—I was contacted by a farmer this week in my constituency who was talking about the fact that one of his friends who owns a farm where TB was present had to see the cattle that he had reared and fed and cared for for a number of years shot in front of him in the farmyard. That caused him terrible mental distress and anguish, and we know that mental health among the agricultural community has been at rock bottom in recent years, and we've had organisations like Tir Dewi in Sam Kurtz's constituency that have tried to meet those challenges. I think that we need to have a think about whether that sort of action in response to a TB find on a farm is appropriate, and whether we can't adjust our rules here in Wales so that there's more flexibility and animals can be taken away to be destroyed so that that sort of distress isn't caused to those who've given such good care in rearing those animals. So, I wonder if the Minister can respond to that particular issue as well when she sums up the Government's response today. Thank you.

Animal welfare establishments in Wales are providing a critical and necessary service, as we can see by just how busy they are. However, their credibility has been damaged by some awful establishments. I'd like to bring some examples to light of just why we need to regulate animal welfare establishments.

Since 2016, I've been watching the actions against a local charity in my region, Capricorn Animal Rescue, which was exposed in a BBC Wales undercover programme that my colleague Huw Irranca-Davies was part of. The volunteers had been fighting for more than three years prior to this programme airing, yet it was only struck off the charity register in September of this year—eight years—and still there is no formal action from the Charity Commission against those responsible, nor a report from an inquiry that opened in 2017. The frustrations of the volunteers fighting here were solely looking at the Charity Commission as the only viable authority.

The key issue for these volunteers also was that there was no one body responsible for stepping in and it was them that faced the brunt of the mental health burden and fiscal cost of fighting something that was so obviously wrong. On their behalf, I have to publicly thank our local voluntary council, who helped these volunteers in every way they could, and provided the only element of direct support available.

Again, within my region of north Wales, in 2019 another organisation, from south Wales, Whispering Willows horse sanctuary, caused issues locally. Some simple investigations by local constituents exposed some very serious concerns with the foundation of that organisation, and in early 2021 the founder pleaded guilty to Animal Welfare Act offences and was banned for 10 years. Only last week were 34 dogs and two ferrets removed from a farm in Snowdonia connected to a local hunt. Every issue like this puts massive strain on other animal welfare organisations when they're closed, having to support taking in additional animals that were not part of their planned need.

The Welsh Government animal welfare plan goes much further. However, a start is to regulate all organisations that are responsible for animals in our society. It's concerning that anyone can start an animal welfare establishment, regardless of qualifications or experience. We must make sure that we are all doing all we can to provide adequate resources and, importantly, powers to action animal welfare establishment regulation and to properly investigate issues when they're exposed by members of the public or volunteers. Local authorities will need massive amounts of support and education on major areas that are not their expertise. The issues outside of current licensed business and the complications that come with charity legislation, and the well-known difficulties with founder's syndrome, are a mountain to face without a thorough understanding. We must listen to the experiences of those who have exposed welfare issues and create the regulations to require multiple organisations to work together to actively stop abuses. Yet there must be a requirement to have a sole body responsible for stepping in, and this must no longer be on the heads of volunteers. Diolch.

I call on the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, Lesley Griffiths.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I very much welcome this debate on animal rescue and rehoming centres. It's always good to hear about Members' animal family members, and I think I'd probably better mention my family has two dogs, Minnie and Bronnie; the latter is a rescue dog, and, as we said, they're much-loved members of our families. 

The five-year animal welfare plan for Wales that I launched earlier this month is ambitious and it's innovative, and it sets out how we will build on the progress we have made in relation to animal welfare since powers were devolved to Wales back in 2006. Following the election, it was something I passionately wanted to do, to have everything in one place, and to bring a range of actions together, along with our programme for government commitments, and to show that these were the things that we would be doing over the five-year term of this Government. My ambition, I think like every Member in this Chamber, is for all animals in Wales to have a good quality life, and, in pursuit of this, our plan includes the realisation of the four programme for government commitments regarding kept animal welfare, and also outlines how we will integrate a range of ongoing animal welfare policy work during this Government's term. 

The way that we treat animals I think is a really important reflection of the values of our society. Animal ownership is a privilege—it's not a right—and responsible ownership is an expectation, not an aspiration. Anyone who owns or is responsible for an animal has a legal duty to take reasonable steps to ensure its welfare needs are met. Responsible ownership begins from the moment a person first considers getting an animal. It's vital to carefully consider that commitment. With companion animals, in particular, there's always the risk of being driven by emotional and impulse purchasing. 

Each year, we run a campaign in the run-up to Christmas to remind people of the requirements of responsible ownership, #PawsPreventProtect, and this encourages people to research thoroughly the costs and the commitments involved, the suitability of the pet to their home environment, and to assure they acquire their pets from a legal and reliable source. So, again, I urge every Member in the Senedd to support and promote this campaign in the run-up to Christmas. We are mindful also of the growth in online sales, and how the prospect of a quick unregulated sale also attracts unscrupulous breeders to websites. For this reason, we support the work of the Pet Advertising Advisory Group in ensuring the advertising of pet animals for sale is done legally and ethically. 

Partnership working is absolutely key to the success of everything in the animal welfare plan for Wales. In addition to the Pet Advertising Advisory Group, we are proud of our longstanding relationship with two key groups that bring together third sector organisations—the Animal Welfare Network for Wales and the Companion Animal Welfare Group Wales, which Members have referred to. Members of these groups have been drawn from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Dogs Trust and Cats Protection, and recently attended the Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee and gave evidence on animal welfare issues. There were some glowing words on how the Welsh Government already interacts with them but, of course, there's more we can do. This is why our animal welfare plan highlights the role of stakeholder working groups, because we know we cannot do this on our own.

For today's debate, and as a preface to discussing plans for the licensing or regulation of animal welfare establishments in Wales, I just want to highlight two further examples of partnership working. Firstly, we work closely with local authority enforcement agencies. The enforcement and delivery of legislation is always stronger when there is a clear and shared understanding of what is expected and why it's expected. Enforcement officers require training delivered in a consistent and coherent manner, and the officers themselves need to be recognised and valued for the fundamental role they play in ensuring the maintenance of high welfare standards.  

Secondly, our collaboration with the Animal Welfare Network for Wales led to the publication of a code of best practice for animal welfare establishments in 2020, and I think this was a really important first step. The code is voluntary, but presents excellent advice to encourage the adoption of higher standards of husbandry. So, building on this, as stated in the programme for government and our animal welfare plan, our intention is to move forward with work on the licensing of animal welfare establishments, which is something I believe the majority of people who contact me about this topic are very supportive of. So, we will consult widely to establish the number and spread of establishments involved in the rehoming and rescuing of animals, ranging from those operated by individuals or others run on a larger scale. Our collaborative work with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group will also enable us to consider the inclusion of online organisations, and this work will help ensure that future regulations are current and comprehensive and support local authorities in the oversight of this diverse sector, whose geographic distribution is very uneven across Wales.

By 2023, we will be in a position to bring forward new regulatory requirements for animal welfare establishments, to include arrangements designed to safeguard minimum training, staffing and environmental standards. We've also engaged with local authorities to train officers in the enforcement of new regulations to ensure consistency of approach. Our amendment to this evening's motion emphasises the key role of local authority enforcement and sets out our plans for the regulation of animal welfare establishments in accordance with the welfare plan, notably with reference to processes, timing and the fundamental role of working in partnership.

The achievements and actions I've outlined serve to illustrate how animal welfare and the responsible ownership of animals are priorities for the Welsh Government. To finish with a quotation from our animal welfare plan:

'Our ambition is for animal welfare in Wales to be recognised for its exemplary standards, its adoption and sharing of best practice, its engagement with key stakeholders, its development of effective, supportive and sustainable mechanisms for enforcement, its contribution to research, and its championing of education and responsible ownership for the benefit of our own and future generations.'

And I know, working together, we can achieve this. Diolch.

I call on Janet Finch-Saunders to reply to the debate.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Isn't it marvellous to think that, in many of the contributions today, everybody's told us about their family members? So, I'm going to mention Alfie Finch-Saunders, who we have had since five years old, and it's really quite sad, because, when our family took him on, he'd been kept in a barn in the dark and he still has a dint in his nose now from where the cage he was in was too short. But when my husband phones me when I'm over here, the first thing I say is, 'How is Alfie?' [Laughter.] So, it's really good that we've got like-minded people here.

The Llywydd took the Chair.

So, I'd like to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to everybody who's spoken here today, including the Minister, and Sam Kurtz for opening the debate so well. As we've heard many times this afternoon, currently, there is no legislation in place in Wales, so anyone can set up their own rehoming organisation or sanctuary. And I have to say, most of these are set up with very good intentions. Now, whilst many animal welfare establishments in Wales achieve extremely high standards of welfare, some recent tragic case studies—and they've been mentioned here today—can attest to the fact that there are organisations and individuals operating as rescues who can sometimes become overwhelmed with animals and struggle to meet the welfare needs of the animals in their care.

As well as ensuring that our selfless animal protection organisations have the support they need, regulating rescues would also make it easier to distinguish between genuine rescue and rehoming centres and back-street breeders and third-party sellers who try to bypass recent laws prohibiting third-party sales of puppies and kittens by pretending to be a rescue sanctuary. In highlighting the scale of the problem, only last month, and following a seven-month investigation by National Trading Standards and Trading Standards Wales, nearly 200 dogs were rescued from a suspected illegal puppy farm in Carmarthenshire. As Members have rightly pointed out, such as Alun Davies and his concerns about standards in some rescue centres, there's been enough talk now, and I agree with him in calling for more action from the Minister.

Gareth Davies pointed out the very obvious and proactive approach that's already been taken elsewhere in the UK, and that anyone can set up a sanctuary without any regulations. Indeed, the Scottish Government has already passed regulations, which came into force on 3 September 2021. Elsewhere, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will be consulting on proposals to regulate the sector in England by late 2021-22. This is why I share in the disappointment registered by both the Blue Cross and the Companion Animal Welfare Group Wales that the timelines laid out in the Welsh Government's animal welfare plan show a real lack of urgency, which could lead to exploitation by unscrupulous breeders and leave Wales lagging behind other nations. Despite more than two decades of devolution, the Welsh Government's slow pace of action in this area has now led to Wales being unsympathetically dubbed as the puppy farming capital of the UK. That is not a moniker that we want to stick, and inaction leaves our charitable sector to pick up the pieces. It is precisely for this reason that the likes of Dogs Trust want to work with the Welsh Government towards regulation of rehoming organisations and sanctuaries, ensuring full traceability of all puppies bred and sold. I know the Minister knows I've gone on and on about this, but I hate it when I see on Facebook people breeding dogs for profit and then trying to sell them on Facebook at very young ages. So, I hope that today's support for this Welsh Conservative motion will urge the Minister to review the timetable for regulations and work with stakeholders to confront this scourge.

Thank you to Cefin Campbell for his contribution outlining just how outdated the animal companion legislation has become, and also for pledging the support of Plaid Cymru for our motion. Natasha Asghar paid tribute to those good organisations who are safeguarding our four-legged friends. Darren Millar talked about Blue, his rescue whippet, and also mentioned North Clwyd Animal Rescue—my late parents were very pleased and absolutely loved their little dog they got from there—and mentioned the Welsh Mountain Zoo and the RSPCA in Bryn-y-maen. Jane Dodds talked about Arthur as an ex-racing greyhound and the benefit of the good rehoming centres, but that training, support and regulation is vital. 

With an estimated 650,000 dogs living in 440,000 Welsh homes, and an estimated 607,000 cats living in 26 per cent of Welsh households, it is clear that we are a proud nation of animal lovers. Carolyn Thomas, thank you for your contribution and for speaking about the risks of taking in additional animals, and that actually then all the reasons that these people set out hoping to safeguard animals become part of a bigger problem. 

As Father Christmas begins to saddle up his sleigh and the reindeer bells begin to chime overhead, let us all remember that a pet is for life and not just for the festive holidays. They are ceaselessly loving, sentient and endlessly loyal members of our families. So, let's ensure that we have the means, the time, and the wherewithal now, Minister, the legislation that we need, to ensure that we provide the life of happiness that they so desperately deserve. Thank you. Diolch, Llywydd.

The proposal is to agree the motion without amendment. Does any Member object? Does any Member object? [Objection.]

Okay, on the second time of asking.

Therefore, there is an objection. We will defer voting until voting time.

Voting deferred until voting time.

So, we will take a short break now to prepare for voting time.

Plenary was suspended at 17:48.

The Senedd reconvened at 17:52, with the Llywydd in the Chair.