Diolch, Llywydd. And as the red squirrel species champion in the Senedd, I'm absolutely delighted to see that this debate has been brought forward by the Petitions Committee. And before I go any further, I must declare an interest in this debate as the honorary member of the Red Squirrels Trust Wales and indeed a member of the Clocaenog Red Squirrels Trust as well. And I want to pay tribute to the incredible work of the lead petitioner, Dr Craig Shuttleworth, for organising the petition, and the incredible work that he does, day in, day out, in leading red squirrel conservation efforts across the country. He's not alone, of course—there are the Red Squirrels Trust, the Clocaenog Red Squirrels Trust, the Welsh Mountain Zoo and a whole army of others, including many volunteers, who give their time, effort and resources fighting for these super furry animals.

Since being appointed as the red squirrel champion back in 2016, it's been an absolute thrill to get to know more about this unique and iconic species and to visit many of the projects across Wales and to learn about the efforts being made to boost the fortunes of the red squirrel population and to revive it. For over 10,000 years, the red squirrel population was the dominant population here in Wales of squirrels. And not only that, it populated the vast majority of the British Isles. But we know from what has already been shared today that that population dwindled significantly, and as late as the 1990s there were just a few hundred red squirrels scattered across Wales in small population pockets, which were at risk. But it was at that time, before the turn of the millennium, that heroic conservation efforts to revive the species began. And thanks to these efforts, I'm proud to say that in my own constituency the Clocaenog forest now has a sustainable small, but growing red squirrel population. In mid Wales, the Vincent Wildlife Trust released pine martens, a predator to grey squirrels, and that project has, so far, also proved successful in boosting the population numbers there.

But the biggest triumph, in my opinion, for any conservation effort of any animal in Wales, has been on the island of Anglesey. Because, thanks to its status as an island, an ambitious plan to remove grey squirrels was hatched, and, by 2015, it was announced that Anglesey was a grey squirrel-free zone. But all these efforts, they've been undermined, and they've been undermined due to outdated forestry legislation, which pays no regard to at-risk wildlife populations. How can it be that while it's illegal to kill or injure a red squirrel or disturb a red squirrel in its drey or nest—how can it be that a forest containing them is not protected and can be chopped down? Yet that, unfortunately, is the current state of affairs, as far as the law is concerned, here in Wales. Because while a felling licence is required to harvest timber or fell trees in private woodland in Wales, it's a scandal that such licences cannot be refused if they cause habitat loss and red squirrel population decline. And, of course, Government-owned forests, they do not require a licence, but they are managed under 10-year plans. Regrettably, there is no obligation whatsoever to update or refresh those plans to take note of the actual squirrel population on an annual basis and where it's nesting within those forests. And as a result of that, we now face an incredible challenge of seeing in parts of Wales trees being felled, or planned to be felled, which could result in the setting back of these enormous conservation efforts that we've seen.

And let's give you an example of how the current arrangements are failing in that regard: Pentraeth forest on Ynys Môn. And I know that Rhun ap Iorwerth will be familiar with this challenge. It is a red squirrel stronghold—one of the few strongholds in Wales. Yet Natural Resources Wales has given permission for a felling operation that is going to be based on the outdated data on the local squirrel population, which is over 10 years old, and, worse still, it's going to allow the felling operation to take place during the red squirrel breeding season. So, while a new generation of this endangered species are settling down into their nests, the trees, which hold those nests, will be chopped down. And this is not a small area of woodland being torn down; it's 17 acres—6,500 tonnes of timber—worth of prime red squirrel habitat that is going to be destroyed. And we must remember that this is at a time when, quite rightly, the Welsh Government is decrying global deforestation and encouraging every household in Wales to plant a tree. So, we can't allow this situation to persist. We've got to take action now if we're going to see this species continue to rebound.

Yes, we need to address the shortcomings of the Forestry Act 1967. That work has already been done in Scotland, so we have a template that we can pick up and apply here in Wales. We need a clear timescale for that work to be achieved. And I'm pleased very much that the Welsh Government has started the work on planning for that legislation to change. But we also need some work to be done on ensuring that these 10-year plans are updated on a much more frequent basis so that we can protect the wildlife populations—not just the red squirrel, but other important wildlife species as well—in forests that are state-owned and state-run across the country.

So, on behalf of this small, but incredibly super furry animal, I want to encourage everybody to back the petition that's called for these changes to be made today, and I look forward to hearing further contributions.