LUCY’S LAW LAGS BEHIND IN WALES

Well this was a waste of time.

Instead of enacting Lucy’s Law, the key legislation to help end puppy farming, the Welsh Government decided to put the issue to public consultation.

What is there to consult about? Lucy’s Law is a brilliant idea, it bans the sale of puppies and kittens by third parties such as pet stores and online dealers, so that they can’t act as a conduit for cruel breeders who churn out litter after litter behind closed doors.

The Westminster Government has already introduced Lucy’s Law in England, but animal welfare is a devolved power and the ruling Labour Government in Cardiff seemed incapable of action.

This is tragic because rural Wales is home to the majority of large-scale puppy breeders in the UK.

As long ago as November 2018, Lesley Griffiths, Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, said she was looking at introducing a ban.

The results of the pointless consultation are now in and show that 98% of the public want the ban.

Of course they do, no one but a heartless breeder or greedy seller would oppose it.

Now the minister has declared: “I can confirm that a ban on commercial thirdparty sales will be introduced by the end of this Senedd [Parliament].”

Finally.

The roll call of bent investment websites preying on savers includes compare-apr-rates.com.

It is one of many that thrives because it is pushed to the top of online search results thanks to Google Ads.

“Compare the best fixed-rate investments on the market,” it touted, using an 0203 number and giving a virtual office address in Mayfair, London.

It also claimed that all its bonds are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, but last week the City watchdog added it to the alert list of unauthorised firms and its phone line was cut off.

So what did compare-apr-rates.com do next?

It got a new phone number, changed address by a single number on the same street and carried on as before – still being promoted through Google Ads.

Flying in the face of reality, Google insists: “Fraudulent ads have no place on our platforms and we do not allow advertisers who set out to mislead consumers about their identity or services.”