Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:16 pm on 7 December 2016.
Mr Simon Thomas
Plaid Cymru
3:16,
7 December 2016
I’d like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for that brief statement. There was some confusion this morning when we heard on the news that there was a ban on keeping poultry in the open air in England and Scotland, without any mention of Wales. It’s clear now that the rule is being implemented in Wales also. Can I ask the Minister, therefore, just a few questions that I think are relevant?
First of all, has this been agreed jointly? The Minister said that there is collaboration, but was anything jointly agreed between the Welsh Government, the Westminster Government—DEFRA, which is responsible for England—and Scotland? And for how long, therefore, will this prohibition, or these rules, be in place? As we are approaching Christmas and perhaps the life expectancy of some of this poultry isn’t particularly long anyway, but, having said that, there are important businesses in Pembrokeshire producing turkeys, such as Cuckoo Mill Farm, and there is a free-range company in Cardigan—Postance and so on. All sorts of companies are preparing for Christmas and preparing to sell this produce. Does the Government need to take any specific steps to establish the public’s trust in the food chain, because the Government will know that, in the past, any risk of avian flu has raised concerns about produce, particularly meat in our shops? I hope we can avoid any sort of fear of that kind. The final question is: are there any specific steps that the Government is recommending, or intends to recommend, to food producers involved with poultry that could be taken during the next few weeks?
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