Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 2:57 pm on 22 March 2023.
As a cat owner myself, I'm delighted that Sarah Murphy tabled this question, and I welcomed the Welsh Government's introduction of Lucy's law 18 months ago, which seeks to ban third-party sales of cats and dogs under the age of six months. On reading your explanatory memorandum to the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Wales) Regulations 2021—snappily titled—I was interested to see that you mentioned the regulations were drafted as a first step to ensuring that the welfare of puppies and kittens in Wales who are currently being bred and sold to third parties is improved significantly. However, as you will be aware, Minister, cat and dog breeders are subject to a licensing scheme enforced through local authorities. I also note you provided statutory guidance to local authorities on the regulations alongside creating a pan-Wales system for training local authority enforcement officers. So, how far are you in assessing the effectiveness of Lucy's law in Wales, and how well are enforcement and licensing officers applying it at local authority level, and what is the next step in protecting the welfare of cats?