Ban on third party animal sales moves closer

RSPCA Cymru has announced a consultation will begin in the new year to ban the sales.

The announcement was made at the RSCPA Cymru awards event on Monday, and the consultation will look to gather evidence on what stage the Welsh Government should intervene in large scale breeding premises and address concerns about animal welfare.

Speaking in Cardiff Bay, the Cabinet Secretary Lesley Griffiths said: “Wales has led the way in animal welfare legislation and we’re determined to keep raising standards of responsible animal ownership.

“I know there are growing concerns about the welfare standards at some large scale breeding premises and I have asked my officials to investigate how a ban on third party sales could address these concerns.”

During the RSPCA Cymru event awards were presented to local authorities, housing providers and organisations as part of the Community Animal Welfare Footprint (CAWF) awards.

This year 16 organisations we resented with 19 CAWF awards - with seven winning a gold award; the most that has been given out at one time.

Among the award winners was Mid Wales Housing Association.

RSPCA Cymru’s public affairs manager, Paul Smith, added: “We were delighted that so many winners were able to attend the event, to congratulate them for all their hard work and dedication in improving animal welfare in their roles across Wales, and get the recognition that they deserve.

“We’d very much like to thank the Cabinet Secretary Lesley Griffiths for attending and for her speech, where she announced that there will be a new consultation on banning third party sales on puppies and kittens. We're delighted that such progress for a key RSPCA campaign was announced at our event.

“The theme of the evening was ‘Together for Animal Welfare’ and with puppy breeding - working together is so important.

“We look forward to taking part in the consultation and working with the Welsh Government to ensure this becomes a reality. By ending third party sales - and in conjunction with Wales’ unique dog breeding laws - Wales can help end the illegal puppy and kitten trade and this cruel multi-million pound business.”