7. What consideration has the Welsh Government given to banning greyhound racing? OQ59110

I sent my response to the Petitions Committee, which the Member chairs, to the report that came forward on this issue yesterday, and, as detailed in the response, any proposed changes to legislation will be subject to full public consultation.

I'm grateful to the Minister for that answer and I'm grateful to the Minister for responding positively to the Senedd Petitions Committee on the report that called for a phased ban on greyhound racing. The reason we called for a phased ban on greyhound racing is because the majority of Members felt the evidence that we heard was overwhelmingly in favour of a phased ban. I understand the position of the Welsh Government that they will have to go out to consultation on any ban, and a consultation will include the position on a ban on greyhound racing. I wondered if you could update the Chamber, Minister, on what the next steps are for the Welsh Government in this regard.

Thank you, and I was very pleased to be able to accept, or accept in principle, all the recommendations bar one, and I very much look forward to the debate that will be held in this Chamber on 6 March, and I suppose that's the next step. And then we will have a look at what more we need to do to have a look and make sure that our greyhounds are protected as much as possible. I've also met with the owner of Valley stadium, which, as you know, is the only greyhound stadium here in Wales, to discuss the welfare issues that have been raised with me. I'm very keen to see the inspections continue at the stadium. But the next immediate step will be the debate on 6 March.

Thank you, Minister, for your response to my colleague Jack Sargeant's question. As you know, in a few weeks' time, we will shortly be discussing the Petitions Committee's report on greyhound racing and specifically its main recommendation that the sport be banned in Wales. As highlighted in that report, I was the only voice in the committee who believes more could be done to enforce and tighten existing regulation first to improve greyhound welfare. As part of my own evidence gathering, I met with the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, the regulator for licensed greyhound racing in Great Britain, to discuss 'A Good Life for Every Greyhound', their independently assessed welfare strategy, which all GBGB tracks have to adhere to. I'm aware that GBGB tracks do not appear to have the same level of issues surrounding animal welfare that appear at Wales's only track, which does not have GBGB accreditation, and I'd like this Government to do a more thorough investigation into whether or not GBGB regulation could resolve animal welfare issues before legislating for a ban. With this in mind—and I'm conscious I've not seen your response to the committee's recommendations yet—what investigative work has the Welsh Government undertaken to properly understand animal welfare at the Valley track and at GBGB registered tracks? And given that the Petitions Committee's report has also called for a review of other sports in Wales involving animals, I'm curious to know what rationale will be used in deciding which sports are banned and which are not, should this Government support the recommendations of the Petitions Committee's report. Thank you.

So, in answer to your last point—and I appreciate you haven't seen my response as yet—recommendation 5, which was that we should also look at other sports where animals compete, is the recommendation I have rejected, because, obviously, this is a focus on greyhound racing. What our animal welfare plan, which I introduced back in 2021—it's a five-year plan—does is include a framework for the realisation of the four animal welfare programme for government commitments, and that does outline how we will integrate a broad range of ongoing animal welfare policy work.

In relation to your questions around GBGB tracks, you'll be aware that the one track in Wales isn't a GBGB track. I, too, have met with GBGB to see what more could be done, and my officials are having a look. I don't think they've visited any other GBGB tracks, but certainly had discussions with, I think, the chief executive of GBGB, to see what we can learn.

Greyhound racing is all too often incredibly dangerous for the greyhounds, and there is this statistic that 2,000 greyhounds were euthanised in the UK between 2018 and 2020 simply as a result of being raced. I strongly believe that no animal should suffer in the name of sport, and that goes for all sports that use all forms of animals for human entertainment, so I'm pleased to hear you say that that's under consideration in this consultation. There are 35,000 people who signed this petition, so we're not in the minority, the few voices here; we're representing a huge sector of society who think the same. So, Minister, when you go out to consultation, and it will be right across Wales, will you be feeding that consultation back before decisions are made and progress is taken?

Thank you. Well, as I said, we've already committed to considering licensing of greyhound racing as part of our animal welfare plan. The next step is now to have the petition. What I have said to the Petitions Committee and to Members in the Chamber is that anything we decide to do would have to go out to public consultation, so let's have the debate on 6 March and then we can decide on the next steps.

The final question, question 8, Natasha Asghar.