2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:45 pm on 24 May 2022.

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Photo of Janet Finch-Saunders Janet Finch-Saunders Conservative 2:45, 24 May 2022

I would like to request a statement from you, Trefnydd, in your capacity as Minister for rural affairs. With the brutal and illegal conflict in Ukraine continuing to rumble on, I've been delighted to see the UK Government take leadership on the refugee crisis, with hundreds of families now being given the opportunity to rebuild their lives here in Wales and across the UK. However—and it was raised with the Minister for Social Justice last week—we do have a situation where there is no mechanism now to allow pets arriving from Ukraine to complete their isolation at home with their owners. This is even after all necessary checks and immunisations have been completed. My colleague Russell George raised this here last week, and I've heard of more instances where pets are now trapped in England and being moved around different places in England. So, what we want to see, really, is you make a statement on how the Welsh Government will work with the Animal and Plant Health Agency to urgently allow these beloved pets to be returned to their owners, just providing some small sense of their own home to families looking to rebuild their lives here in Wales. Thank you.