New Act of the Assembly addresses increasing problem of fly-grazing, empowering local authorities to seize, impound, sell or otherwise dispose of horses which are left grazing on land without lawful authority and empowers them to recover some of the costs incurred.
Responding to the announcement, Plaid’s Shadow Minister for Sustainable Communities, Energy and Food, Llyr Gruffydd AM said:
“This new legislation is very welcome and will go some way in tackling the shocking rise that has been seen in the abandonment of horses and ponies across Wales.
“Whilst we were disappointed the Government didn’t include provision in the Bill to allow landowners and other third parties to recoup costs incurred from illegal fly-grazing they did agree to Plaid Cymru’s calls to detail those costs after twelve months with a view to developing a mechanism for compensating those parties in the longer term.
“Fly-grazing is a deeply distressing crime for a number of different reasons but none more important than the welfare of the animals and this new law will go a long way in preventing the suffering of horses.”
