Labour-run Wales is told to ban dogs from parts of the countryside as amid plans to rid the country of racism by 2030: ‘Virtue-signalling nonsense’, say Tories_Nhy
Labour-run Wales has been told to ban dogs from parts of the countryside amid plans to rid the country of racism by 2030.
The recommendation has partly been driven by environmental groups as Labour’s devolved administration sets out plans to ensure ‘all areas’ of public life are transformed.
In a report to the Welsh government, Climate Cymru BAME said ‘dog-free areas in local green spaces’ should be created as part of a number of proposals.
The Welsh Conservatives have condemned the report as ‘outdated virtue signalling nonsense’, The Telegraph reports.
The reason behind the request for dog-free areas is not elaborated on in the report, which will be used by the government to ‘support policy teams’ that are ‘developing and implementing’ Wales’ anti-racist plans.
Labour-run Wales has been told to ban dogs from parts of the countryside amid plans to rid the country of racism by 2030. (File image)
The Government has concluded that ethnic minorities face ‘barriers’ to outdoor areas created by ‘exclusions and racism’.
A separate set of recommendations submitted by the North Wales Africa Society also called for ‘dog-free areas’.
It added that during one of its focus groups, ‘one black African female stated that she feels unsafe with the presence of dogs’.
Others also kept ‘seeing dog fouling on the floor’, the report added.
Barriers to outdoor activities includes the perception that growing food in gardens or allotments is ‘dominated by middle-aged white women’.
The Welsh government were also handed complaints that mess and the quality of urban green spaces was a consistent issue recorded in reports of ethnic minority experiences.
One person complained that ‘the green spaces are not respected in areas where there is a bigger population of ethnic minority people’.
Other issues flagged included lack of public transport to non-urban green spaces and poor air quality in towns and cities.
In the report which was published on November 6, ‘some participants expressed apprehension about visiting the countryside owing to their racial or religious identities’.
The Welsh Conservatives have condemned the report as ‘outdated virtue signalling nonsense’. (File image)
It added there were ‘concerns of the lack of understanding and relationships by the wider white population particularly in rural areas, from personal experiences’.
The conclusion of the report was blasted by the Tories, with Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, saying: ‘This kind of outdated virtue signalling nonsense is completely out of touch with the needs of the people of Wales.
‘Labour is stuck on yesterday’s thinking, the kind that is being roundly rejected globally. Time to turf them out.’
A Welsh Government spokesman said: ‘We are committed to creating an anti-racist nation by 2030. Our Anti-racist Wales Action Plan is built on the values of anti-racism and calls for zero tolerance of all racial inequality.’
