Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 2:49 pm on 29 June 2022.
Thank you, Minister. I recently visited Hope Rescue centre with Huw Irranca-Davies, as he mentioned, and I think we can all agree that the visit from Hope Rescue and south Wales greyhound rescue has left a massive impression on a lot of us, just by the questions that we've had today. But I think we can all see, like you said, just how outstanding the care for the dogs was. On our visit to the centre, though, the staff told us how they are now inundated with seized dogs from illegal breeders. The BBC reported that investigations into illegal dog breeding have risen by 63 per cent in Wales. This is very much a good thing, but they are of course then signed over to the rescue centres for care, and they're just absolutely inundated. They actually told me that, since our visit two weeks ago, 10 poorly bulldogs have been seized, and the issue is that whilst an investigation then takes place by the police, the seized dogs can't move on, so this is creating a huge backlog of dogs within the centre, and there's just a lack of space now for new dogs if they need to be rescued. They said that if there's one more call from the police now, they're just going to have to say 'no'; they can't take anymore. So, Minister, how is the Welsh Government working with local authorities to strengthen the regulations and prevent illegal dog breeding within our communities, but, more than anything, is there anything that can be done or a timescale put on how long the dogs can be in the home before they can be rehomed?