Anti-racist dog-free zone claims debunked

Emily Price 

The Welsh Government has denied claims that it has been advised to introduce dog free zones to help make Wales’ countryside “anti-racist”

This week, several media outlets reported that action group Climate Cymru BAME had recommended canine free green spaces as part of the government’s Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan.

The claims have been amplified by the leader of the Senedd Conservatives Andrew RT Davies who shared news articles on his social media channels and appeared as a guest to talk about the issue on GB News.

‘Cherrypicked’

Climate Cymru BAME says one line had been “cherrypicked” from a government report “out of context, misrepresented and used as clickbait to drive engagement.”

The Welsh Government says the suggestion there are plans to ban dogs from the countryside is “inaccurate and a complete misrepresentation” of the report.

Ethnic minority groups were invited to contribute to the action plan which sets out a vision for Wales to be an anti-racist county.

A member of a small community group which took part in conversations with Climate Cymru BAME suggested the creation of “urban farming (allotments) and dog-free areas” such as children’s playgrounds.

The climate action group says this suggestion was not a central part of the conversation or the group’s feedback – it was “just one comment of many from this community conversation submission and is not Welsh Government policy.”

‘Factually incorrect’

In a statement, Climate Cymru BAME said: “The original Daily Mail article, seemingly based on this single line, claimed that dogs have been banned from the Welsh Countryside, which is factually incorrect.

“The headline has now been changed but remains misleading; no one has suggested dogs, or their owners, are racist or that they should be banned from urban green spaces and especially not from the countryside which wasn’t even mentioned in the conversations.

“We would prefer the media and politicians focus on the real issues that UK communities face. Racism remains an issue that causes division and suffering for many in our communities and ultimately it is right that governments and others try and address this.”

The “factually incorrect” claims have been shared online by Andrew RT Davies who told journalists the Welsh Government was pursuing “woke” and “trivial” policies instead of focusing their energy on the NHS and education standards.

The most senior Tory in Wales says Climate Cymru BAME contacted him on Thursday (November 14) asking him to remove his social media posts and requesting he makes no further comment.

‘Madness’

Sharing a further article to X, with the headline “Woke madness as govt-funded study says dogs should be banned from countryside over risk of offending minorities”, Mr Davies said: “To be clear, I make no apologies for apposing Labour’s divisive “Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan. The report should not have been commissioned.”

Mr Davies was formally reprimanded in the Senedd last week for incorrect claims he made online about Wales’ 20mph speed limit. 

Labour backbencher Alun Davies says the Welsh Conservative leader should be “ashamed” of himself. 

He said: “This is exactly the deliberate misrepresentation that drags our politics into the gutter. Andrew RT Davies has a track record of using race and religion to create social divisions. It to the Welsh Conservatives shame that they allow him to do it.

“After being censured by the Senedd last week Andrew is now clearly targeting some of our communities in Wales to fan the flames of racism. He should be ashamed.”

Clarity

It is understood that several media outlets have been contacted and asked to update their stories to clarify that the Welsh Government has no plans to “ban racist dogs” as several articles have suggested.

A story by the Daily Mail which claimed dogs in Wales are already banned from the countryside has since been updated.

In a statement, the Welsh Government said: “There are no plans to ban dogs from the countryside and any suggestion otherwise is inaccurate and a complete misrepresentation of this report which sought to understand what information was already available on the relationship between ethnic minority people and environmental matters and where there were evidence gaps.

“It gathered information directly from ethnic minority people in Wales. Comments highlighted by the media are feedback from people asked their views and not Welsh Government proposals.

“The Welsh Government is 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.”