Andrew RT Davies doubles down on dog-free zone claims as community group suffers torrent of racist abuse

Emily Price

Andrew RT Davies has doubled down on comments he made about anti-racist dog free zones despite the organisation at the heart of the story telling him its members have been subject to a "barrage" of racist abuse and hate mail. 

This week several national news outlets reported that dogs would be banned from the Welsh countryside under new plans to make green spaces more inclusive of ethnic minorities. 

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

The story stemmed from a government commissioned report by Climate Cymru BAME which sought to understand the relationship between ethnic minority communities and environmental matters.

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'Cherrypicked'

Climate Cymru says one line from the report was "cherrypicked" by some tabloids and politicians "out of context, misrepresented and used as clickbait to drive engagement."

The Welsh Government says the comment highlighted by the media was "feedback" and "not Welsh Government proposals".

An email exchange shown to Nation Cymru has revealed how the head of Climate Cymru, Sam Ward, contacted Mr Davies pleading with him to stop adding weight to the claims because it was causing "suffering" to the BAME communities involved. 

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'Upset'

Mr Ward wrote: “I am writing on behalf of community members who are upset. There has been quite a bit of misunderstanding on the issue which I have seen on your social media accounts and doing media interviews. Let me offer this explanation and background and I hope it can be considered moving forward to minimise the damage done to this community group and individuals involved.

“Climate Cymru Ethnic Minorities (formerly BAME) Group is a small, self-formed community group. The Welsh Government asked for views from ethnic minority community members on racism in Wales and this group held conversations with wider community members and submitted comments from the discussions as part of the nationwide conversation.

“When discussing their experience of barriers to being in the outdoors one of the community members suggested: 'Create urban farming (allotments) and dog-free areas in local green spaces'.

"Children’s playgrounds are an example of this. This comment was not a central part of either the conversation or their overall feedback. This was just one comment of many from this community conversation submission and is not Welsh Government policy.

"It has been taken out of context, cherry picked, misrepresented and used as clickbait. 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 are racist or that they will be banned from the countryside.

'Hate mail'

Mr Ward continued: "The community members (many of whom are dog lovers!) and small staff team have been the brunt of considerable criticism and influx of hate mail and messages. The coverage uses the misleading headlines to encourage pushback on measures to address racism and undermines trust from this community trying to participate in the democratic process.

"We are frustrated at the media landscape honing in on this when what we would really like them and the Welsh Conservatives to focus on holding the government to account on the real issues that communities in the UK are facing.

"Millions of people across the UK are in fuel poverty and the cost of living crisis remains central to people’s lives. The fossil fuel companies make billions of pounds whilst millions live in cold damp homes and air pollution kills more than 28,000 in the UK each year (1400+ in Wales).

"Racism remains an issue that causes division and suffering for many in our communities and I know you don’t want that. This community is hurting. We would appreciate removal of social media posts to date and please make no more social media posts or media appearances on this topic."

Mr Davies responded to the email doubling down on his stance and arguing that nothing he had said on the issue was "untrue". 

He wrote: "Dear Sam, Thank you for your email. I note your comments. To be clear, I make no apologies for scrutinising the Welsh Government's 'Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan'.

"It is divisive and ideologically motivated, and as you will see from the media coverage over the past 24 hours, extremely counterproductive. For these reasons, I do not believe the report should have been commissioned.

"While I cannot speak for others, I am not aware of anything I have said on the matter that is untrue. As such, I will not be removing the posts, and will continue to comment on it. If there is anything else I can assist with, please let me know."

'Woke'

The most senior Tory in Wales then shared 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."

Climate Cymru also wrote to Tory MS James Evans asking that he remove a Daily Mail article which he shared on X - but Mr Evans did not respond.

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

Climate Cymru’s leader says he has also become a target for racist abuse despite being Caucasian after the Daily Mail published photos of him with a "summer tan".

He said some social media users incorrectly suggested that he was from Pakistan - an assumption which has since spread online leading to him receiving emails and messages branding him a "F**king *aki."

Mr Ward said: "The whole thing has been toxic and hopelessly misrepresenting the situation. Racism is an important issue that needs to be addressed, all citizens, but especailly communities affected need to able to share their experience and views - that shouldn’t be controversial or criticised.

"Nobody has claimed dogs or their owners are racist, or asked for them to be banned from the countryside and the Welsh Government have made it clear that dog-free zones suggestion just one of many comments from communities expressing their views and not a Welsh Government policy. It is clear that some people are being deliberatively misleading for personal gain and clicks."