Publishing draft Welsh ban bill 'hard to fathom' says GBGB CEO
GBGB chief executive Mark Bird says Thursday's publication of a draft Senedd bill to ban greyhound racing in Wales is "hard to fathom" and indicates a determination to rush through legislation without proper assessment studies.
Huw Irranca-Davies MS, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, took the unusual step of publishing the draft bill dring Senedd's recess.
Bird said: “This latest statement from the Deputy First Minister and draft Bill, published during Senedd recess, is yet another indication that the Welsh Government is determined to rush through a ban on greyhound racing – no matter the cost.
“The Implementation Group has not reported on its work, nor has any Impact Assessment been published.
“It is hard to fathom how Welsh Ministers and officials can think that this draft Bill should be a priority for the Welsh Senedd and deemed more important than the lives, homes, incomes and health of the Welsh people.”
Plans for a ban were first announced in February with the decision part of a deal with Welsh Lib Dem leader Jane Dodds, the party's only elected representative, in order that she did not oppose the Government's budget which would otherwise have struggled to pass.
Jonathan Kay
The Prohibition of Greyhound Racing (Wales) Bill, if brought into law, would make it an offence to operate a stadium or similar venue in Wales and use it, or knowingly permit it to be used, for greyhound racing.
Irranca-Davies said: "This statement is being issued during recess in order to keep members informed.
"The aim of publishing a draft of the Bill today is to give Senedd Members and interested stakeholders an opportunity to see the proposed scope and direction of the Bill before its formal introduction in the autumn.
"It is still subject to the Llywydd’s [Presiding Officer of the Senedd] determination and so not published for further consultation at this stage.
"Work continues on the preparation of the Bill and there are likely to be changes before it is introduced to the Senedd. This is not therefore a final version."