Agriculture (Wales) Act 2023. (2023 asc 4).

The Act provides a new statutory framework for Sustainable Land Management (“SLM”) in Wales and establishes SLM objectives as overarching framework for agricultural policy. Under Part 1 sustainable land management objectives must be achieved in a way to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, and to contribute to achieving the well-being goals in section 4 of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. SLM objectives follow: 1) produce food and other goods in a sustainable manner; 2) mitigate and adapt to climate change; 3) maintain and enhance the resilience of ecosystems and the benefits they provide; 4) conserve and enhance the countryside and cultural resources and promote public access to and engagement with them, and to sustain the Welsh language and promote and facilitate its use. For the purposes of the first objective, factors relevant to whether food and other goods are produced in a sustainable manner include, among other things, the resilience of agricultural businesses within the communities in which they operate and their contribution to the local economy. For the purposes of the third objective, factors relevant to the resilience of ecosystems include, among other things— (a)diversity between and within ecosystems; (b)the connections between and within ecosystems; (c)the scale of ecosystems; (d)the condition of ecosystems (including their structure and functioning); (e)the adaptability of ecosystems. Part 1 then poses a duty on the Welsh Ministers to exercise certain functions in the way they consider best contributes to achieving the SLM objectives, as well as reporting requirements.
Under Part 2 the Act confers a power on the Welsh Ministers to provide support for agriculture, and in connection with agriculture. This Act lists specific purposes for which support may be provided (although it may also be provided for other purposes that are not listed). These purposes include purposes relating to food production, climate change, greenhouses gases, air and water quality and animal health. The Welsh Ministers must exercise the power of support in the way they consider best contributes to achieving the SLM objectives. The Act also confers to the Minister the power to modify legislation relating to financial and other supports, such as legislation governing the basic payment scheme, common agricultural policy, support for apiculture, support for rural development.Other interventions are related to agricultural markets and agricultural tenancies.
Part 3 regulates matters regulated to agriculture and agricultural products, these include information requirement (the Welsh Ministers may require a person in, or closely connected with, an agri-food supply chain to provide information about matters connected with any of the person’s activities connected with the supply chain so far as the activities take place in Wales); marketing standards; carcasses classification; etc.
Part 4 amends Part 2 of the Forestry Act 1967 (c. 10) in relation to Wales: (a)to expand the range of circumstances in which conditions may be attached to tree felling licences; (b)to enable tree felling licences to be amended by agreement; (c)where there is or has been a breach of a condition of a tree felling licence, to enable the Natural Resources Body for Wales to vary or remove the conditions of the licence, or to add further conditions, or to suspend or revoke the licence, and to require steps to be taken following the breach; (d)where tree felling in accordance with a tree felling licence is causing, or is likely to cause, significant harm to certain aspects of the environment, to enable the Natural Resources Body for Wales to amend the tree felling licence or to suspend or revoke it; (e)to remove the limit on fines that may be imposed for the offence of felling trees without the authority of a tree felling licence; etc.
Part 5 amends the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c. 69). This is done— (a)to prohibit use (including licensed use) of a snare or any other cable restraint for the purpose of killing or trapping a wild animal, and use of a snare or any other cable restraint in any other way that is likely to injure a wild animal, (b)to prohibit use of a glue trap for the purpose of killing or taking an animal, and use of a glue trap in any other way that is likely to catch an animal, and (c)to modify the prohibition on use of traps, any electrical device for killing or stunning, or any poisonous, poisoned or stupefying substance, so that it applies where their use is likely to harm a wild animal.