To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs how he plans to improve animal welfare in animal pounds and kennelling facilities.

The Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1983 allows District Councils to establish and maintain dog pounds and to make arrangements with Department approved kennelling facilities for their use. Kennels or Boarding Establishments are licenced under the Welfare of Animals Act 1972, with both pounds and kennels subject to the welfare rules within the robust Welfare of Animals Act 2011.

The modernisation of some of the more dated pieces of animal welfare legislation is an area I wish to address going forward and I will continue to engage with key stakeholder organisations in the time ahead which will assist me in setting the animal welfare priorities for my Department. However, my capacity to enact legislation is constrained by both the resources available to me and the time remaining in this current mandate.