(Title Image: via Senedd TV)
Environment, Energy & Rural Affairs Minister, Lesley Griffiths (Lab, Wrexham), will strengthen regulations on puppy farming in response to a damning BBC Wales investigation in 2019.
According to BBC Wales, an expert panel concluded that several puppy farms were deliberately run to avoid regulations, while there were links to organised crime. The panel recommended, amongst other things, a register of dog breeders, minimum dog-to-staff ratios and a strengthened inspection regime.
The Minister said: “The combination of new regulations on pet sales and dedicated funding for enforcement and delivery of the breeding regulations, will result in lasting improvements to the welfare standards of puppies bred in Wales.”
It’s unclear if the expert panel’s proposals are linked to the Minister’s promise to introduce a law banning third-party puppy and kitten sales (aka. Lucy’s Law) before the end of the current Senedd term in 2021.