The Welsh government is facing calls for dog-free zones as part of its anti-racism action plan.
A report by climate action group Climate Cymru BAME has recommended the canine-free areas should be introduced to “green spaces” in Wales.
It comes as the government revealed updated plans to end racism in Wales by 2030, ensuring that "all areas" of public life are transformed. The plan, now extended to include environmental factors such as climate change and rural affairs, was first launched in June 2022.
The Welsh government sought the views of stakeholders including Climate Cymru BAME, which compiled the report submitted earlier this month.
It outlines several recommendations about helping to tackle racism, including creating “urban farming (allotments) and dog-free areas in local green spaces”.
The report did not elaborate on how racism could be tackled if the policy were to be implemented.
However, an evidence report also published by North Wales Africa Society, which works with Climate Cymru BAME, said a study found Black African females were concerned over a “general lack of safety” in some parks.
One female stated she feels unsafe with the presence of dogs with regards to fear of attack, citing potential issues of dogs wandering around parks without mouth guards or leashes.
Plans for use of green, urban spaces have been detailed in the new Welsh government action plan, which purposed to include work on climate change, rural affairs and the environment.
The report comes after the latest census figures revealed the proportion of Black Asian and Minority Ethnic individuals and households in Wales has risen from 4.4 per cent in 2011 to 6.2 per cent in 2021, with the Welsh government recognising that locally and globally ethnic minority people are disproportionately affected by climate change and practices that are environmentally damaging.
Relevant recommendations in the report include encouraging a greater number of minority ethnic people to volunteer in the environmental sector.
A Welsh government spokesperson 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.”
