Animal Welfare

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 2:53 pm on 15 February 2023.

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Photo of Tom Giffard Tom Giffard Conservative 2:53, 15 February 2023

Natural Resources Wales have recently proposed to increase charges for sheep-dip disposal by 10 times. This, I'm sure you'll be most aware, will cause barriers to eradicating sheep scab. Now, I note in your statement last month you committed £4.5 million of rural investment scheme funding to help tackle the disease, but you didn't mention whether this would be per year or multi-year funding. I also realise you said in your responses to my colleague Sam Kurtz that the increase in fees from Natural Resources Wales will only impact a small percentage of farms, only giving out 37 permits per year. However, as NFU Cymru have noted, these proposals, they say, are ill thought out and short-sighted. They're asking for a full justification from NRW about this increase. So, what other breakdowns have you seen that would indicate that this is a fair decision for farmers who are struggling with the cost of living?