littlenutters

I recieved this letter today in response to my letter to the First Minister of the Welsh Assembly. Dear Sian Jenkins Your letter to the First Minister Rodri Morgan of the 19 July on the recent press coverage of "Greyhound killing Fields" has been passed to me to respond as my responsibilities cover the Animal Welfare Bill and it's potential outcomes. You raise interesting points, but let me say immediately that burying greyhounds or removing them to be shot because they are of no racing use is, in our view not acceptable. However, for the Assembly to implement new rules or standards on greyhounds, we will have to wait until the Animal Welfare Bill has been enacted. Once enacted, which we hope will be in the Autumn of this year and its provisions intact in clause 12 which will allow the Assembly to make regulations to promote animal welfare, we would hope to consider the issues in more detail. There is in our view several issues that need consideration, these include microchipping animals, ensuring veterinary presence at tracks and ensuring that tracks in Wales have appropriate surfaces, so that the welfare of animals is not compromised. I recognise that for you this perhaps does not go far enough, but the greyhound forum in Wales set up in 2004 through the auspices of the All Party Group on Animal Welfare recognised these problems early on. We only have independant tracks in Wales and we are in discusion with the forum on these issues. It will of course be for Ministers to decide eventually what they wish to do, once the Animal Welfare Bill becomes enacted. Yours sincerely Alun Streeter Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer