1. What support is the Welsh Government providing to encourage responsible dog ownership? OQ58618

The Welsh Government's code of practice for the welfare of dogs informs owners of their obligations relating to controlling their dogs and the governing pieces of legislation, of which there are many. We are working with the UK Government on introducing further safeguards through the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill.

Thank you, Minister. I recently had the opportunity, and the pleasure, indeed, to visit Dogs Trust Cymru at their state-of-the-art rehoming centre here in Cardiff Bay. The team do a marvellous job of rehabilitating, reassuring and rehoming the dogs, which, for a variety of reasons have been left unwanted by their previous owners. Whilst at the centre, I met several good dogs that had been, sadly, abused and suffered mistreatment. Indeed, another charity, the RSPCA, have long called for their investigation and prosecution activities to be placed on a formal basis, which would empower front-line officers to intervene sooner, reducing the reliance on local authorities and police forces. Given this, can I urge you to consider this proposal so that our much-loved family pets receive intervention before the worst-case scenario occurs? Diolch.

Yes, absolutely, this is something that we are considering. I've had several meetings with the RSPCA and officials have also met with them. We've been looking at examples where other countries have had those powers with their third sector. Just to say I absolutely agree with you around Dogs Trust Cymru; it's one of my favourite places to visit.