RSPCA reacts to Plaid Cymru manifesto publication

Reacting to the publication of Plaid Cymru’s 2024 General Election manifesto, Chris Sherwood, RSPCA Chief Executive, said: “We welcome the publication of the Plaid Cymru’s manifesto, and hope political parties across the political spectrum will continue to make their case for animals in the coming weeks ahead of the UK General Election.

“While animal welfare is predominantly a devolved matter, the manifesto raises some important policy issues that should be on the radar of the next UK Government.

“As the RSPCA celebrates its 200th year, the challenges animals are facing are bigger than ever and administrations across the United Kingdom must make animals a priority.

“Any discussion around better food labelling is welcome – but for animals, the priority will be method-of-production labelling. It’s vital any future UK Government completes the consultation on such labels during its first year in office – offering greater transparency to shoppers about how animals have been cared for, and to empower consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.

“Calls from Plaid Cymru for the next UK Government to revisit legislation to better protect livestock from dog attacks is very good news. It was disappointing these measures were lost before the General Election was called; but this is an area where there is great potential for the UK Government and Welsh Government to work closely together; to promote responsible ownership and prevent attacks.

“There is so much that still needs to be achieved to create a better world for every kind of animal and – after 4 July – we will continue to work closely with the new UK Government and MPs from across the political divide, in addition to our work with the Welsh Government and Senedd Members in Cardiff Bay, to make this a reality in the ySet featured imageears which follow.”