Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:43 pm on 7 March 2023.
Thank you. It's something I take very seriously, and unfortunately, particularly this time of year, when we have lambing, we do see a number of the cases that you refer to. One thing I always encourage is responsible ownership by people with dogs. You'll be aware that we fund—the Welsh Government funds—the rural crime and wildlife commissioner, and it's a piece of work we specifically asked him to look at too. I've also had discussions with DEFRA, because I think the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill is an area where we could improve on the legislation. I'm not sure that all the legislation that we have is fit for purpose. Some of it is very, very old. And, just yesterday, I was in an inter-ministerial group with my counterparts from across the UK and raised the stalling of the kept animals Bill, because we've put a lot of effort into that—and unfortunately, as I say, it is stalled—to encourage them to restart, because I do think it will help with this issue.