Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Act 2020: provisions and requirements for additional animal welfare, animal health and wildlife offences - review

5. Work completed since 2020

5.1 The Scottish Animal Welfare Commission

The Scottish Animal Welfare Commission (SAWC) was established by the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission Regulations 2020, made under section 36 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006. The function of providing advice on the protection of wildlife under section 23 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 has been assigned by Ministerial declaration. Further information on the Commission, including terms of reference, reports and minutes of previous meetings, is published when available on their website.

SAWC’s focus is on the welfare of wild and companion animals in Scotland and on providing scientific and ethical advice to the Scottish Government. The Commission provides written reports and opinions to Scottish Ministers giving practical recommendations based on scientific evidence and ethical considerations effecting sentient animals in Scotland. Under regulation 14 of the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission Regulations 2020 SAWC must publish an annual report, send a copy of the report to the Scottish Ministers, and lay a copy of the report before the Scottish Parliament.

To date, SAWC has provided helpful advice on topics as varied as wild deer management, animal sentience, rodent glue traps, fireworks, seals and farmed fish, ear cropping in dogs, and pinioning in ornamental birds. A full list of links to all letters and reports on these and many more topics can be found on the SAWC website, alongside current work plans.

5.2 Licensing of animal activity

The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 came into force on 1 September 2021 and guidance to the regulations was published in December 2021

The regulations replace previous legislation covering pet sales and dog breeding and introduced new licensing requirements for cat and rabbit breeders, animal welfare establishments (such as animal sanctuaries and rehoming centres) and other pet rehoming activities

This legislation has now been in place for 3 years, and over this period, animal welfare officials have held regular meetings with front-line officers from local authority enforcement/licensing teams. These regular meetings have proven invaluable in helping local authority officers understand the requirements of the 2021 animal licensing framework and have enabled officials to target (non-financial) assistance where possible. This forum has also been useful in terms of discussing the Scottish Government's proposals for extending the scope of the 2021 regulations with the local authority officers/teams that would be responsible for future enforcement.

It is clear from these discussions that enforcement, to date, of the 2021 regulations is limited across most local authorities, and this situation is not likely to improve soon. Feedback from local authorities suggests that the lack of enforcement is down to increasing demand for services, limited funding allocation from central Government, issues with staff recruitment/retention and lack of training to enable officers to do the tasks required of them.

The lack of enforcement by local authorities has been raised by various key stakeholders over the past year as a real concern.

Discussions with animal health colleagues have highlighted similar challenges around enforcement of animal health legislation and delivery of official controls.

SAWC considers that the inclusion of an animal’s need “to be protected from suffering, injury and disease” in the list of welfare needs specified in section 24(3) of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 provides the necessary ground for it to inquire into the role of local authorities in relation to the enforcement of both animal health and animal welfare legislation. SAWC’s inquiry comes at a time when many key animal health and welfare stakeholders are raising concerns about the capacity of local authorities to continue to effectively enforce animal health and welfare legislation.

The principal objectives of SAWC’s inquiry, in relation to the implementation and enforcement of legislation intended to secure the health and welfare of kept and domesticated animals, are:

• to highlight the scope and extent of local government’s role;
• to distinguish between local authorities’ mandatory and discretionary powers;
• to provide an informed and accurate assessment of the present situation;
• to reflect the experience of relevant local authority staff;
• to focus on three particular case studies - animal transport, zoo licensing, and licensing of activities involving animals under the 2021 regulations; and
• to make recommendations to the Scottish Ministers.

It is anticipated that SAWC will complete its inquiry by the end of 2025. SAWC’s report should provide a more detailed and evidence-based overview of the extent of the shortcomings regarding local authority enforcement of animal health and welfare legislation.

5.3 Campaigns on sale of puppies

The Welfare of Dogs (Scotland) Bill will raise much needed awareness on how to buy a puppy or dog safely, and that welfare should be at the heart of any decision to acquire a dog. It will complement our ongoing work to promote responsible dog ownership and help to deter those seeking to sell dogs in an unethical or illegal manner.

The Code of Practice to be developed will help ensure that people thinking about buying a dog are aware of their obligations as a prospective owner. Potential dog owners should be prepared to ask if they are willing and able to take on that commitment, including understanding the needs of a particular breed, whether the dog’s intended living arrangements are suitable, the financial burdens that go alongside dog ownership, and the need to train the dog in a way that is safe and healthy.

There is already a wealth of information available to the public from welfare organisations including the Dogs Trust and the Scottish SPCA covering the safe purchase and ownership of a dog and the Scottish Government urge people considering getting a dog to follow the advice provided by those organisations.

This Bill will also help ensure the ethical sale or transfer of dogs between owners. The Code of Practice which is to be developed by this Bill will ensure the transparent and safe transfer of ownership of any puppy and dog.

Dogs remain the most popular pet in the UK, offering companionship, support and a special emotional bond to many. However, evidence from key national and international animal welfare non-government organisations, continues to support long-held concerns that unlicensed and irresponsible puppy breeding and selling has escalated in recent years, a situation heightened during the pandemic when the availability of responsibly bred and sourced puppies has been unable to meet public demand, further fuelling this lucrative trade. The illegal puppy trade is also increasingly linked to major organised crime such as money laundering.

It is clear that there remains a core need for members of the public to be educated to identify the signs of illegal puppy trading, to understand the consequences, and to report those suspected of low welfare breeding. The Scottish Government Animal Welfare campaign, actioned in consultation with Scottish SPCA and the ‘Tackling the Puppy Trade’ working group, is a social marketing initiative which aims to inform and thus positively change the behaviour of those who buy a puppy, with the ultimate goals to:

• Normalise and educate what buying from a reputable source looks like and thereby decrease the demand for ‘next day’ and online puppies from illegal dealers.
• Educate and encourage reporting in order to track the scale and enable enforcement agency to carry out investigation.
• Decrease the market for puppies from illegal dealers, and consequently the number of illegal puppies entering Scotland.

The ‘buy a puppy safely’ campaign first launched in November 2018, with a second burst in November 2019, timed to raise awareness of puppy trade issues ahead of the large spike in online advertisements of puppies in the run up to Christmas. The campaign aimed to prompt potential buyers to buy a puppy reputably by educating on the signs of a puppy which has been illegally bred, directing them to buyapuppysafely.org, to find out more.

Following an alarming increase in activity associated with the unlicensed puppy trade due to Covid and the circumstances surrounding lockdown, a further burst of the campaign ran during November/December 2020. Reaction to the campaign in 2020 was typically positive, although with the possibility of some wear-out compared to prior years:

• Despite considerably reduced spend, the campaign exceeded its awareness target, and the core audience (those planning to buy) were substantially more aware of the consequences of buying from a puppy farm.
• Key campaign metrics were very positive albeit less so than in 2019, potentially due to a different target audience (18-44, rather than 18-34, and likely including more new dog owners as a result of the pandemic), fewer campaign channels working together, and some wear-out.

It is possible too that changed tactics amongst criminals (such as AirBnB rental as a ‘front’ for a family home, showing ‘a mother’ with the pups, and forging documents) also muted a number of the campaign messages. Due to the impact of Covid and an identified need to update and refresh future campaign messaging, no Scottish Government campaign was delivered in 2021. Ongoing budgetary pressures mean that no SG campaign has been delivered since 2021. Each year in the run up to Christmas the Scottish SPCA put out their own messaging on the puppy trade and puppy buying and the Scottish Government aims to support this by actively sharing their posts on social media.

There is a requirement on the Scottish Government to promote the code of practice and Welfare of Dogs (Scotland) Act. This public campaign will be done with input from relevant stakeholders.

5.4 Updated welfare guidance

On 20 November 2023 The Scottish Government published our Guidance for the Welfare of Pigs. This followed on from the publication of our Guidance for the Welfare of Laying Hens and Pullets in August 2020 and the publication of Guidance for the Welfare of Meat Chickens in 2019, and continues the work the Scottish Government is undertaking to replace the outdated codes of practice with updated guidance.

The main reason for moving from animal welfare codes to guidance is to provide a more practical method for good practice information to be published and updated more quickly in order to keep stockkeepers up to date with developing scientific evidence and the latest recommendations, and thereby better promote animal welfare. What is considered to be good practice in the area of animal welfare is constantly changing, and it is important that the information issued, and requirements made, by government are kept up to date. In the case of livestock, ensuring that our good practice information is kept up to date is important in retaining Scotland’s international reputation for high quality meat production.

Animal welfare codes of practice are made under section 37 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006. Section 37: creates a statutory requirement for Ministers to consult on codes of practice, to lay codes of practice before the Scottish Parliament to be approved, and to publicise them when they are published. It also requires that a revocation notice must be laid before Parliament and approved in order to revoke a code; and provides that compliance or otherwise with codes of practice may be used to establish liability in proceedings for an animal welfare-related offence. This means that even minor technical amendments to a code of practice, such as updating references to more recent legislation, legally requires consultation, laying before Parliament for approval, and revocation of the previous codes by Parliament.

Animal welfare guidance documents are made under section 38 of the 2006 Act. There is no formal consultation or Parliamentary approval process required for guidance documents, which will make minor technical updates much quicker and straightforward in future. However, it should be noted that officials have worked very closely with a wide range of industry and welfare stakeholders in the production of the three guidance documents published so far, and stakeholders have been largely content with the documents produced. In addition, Parliament has the opportunity to scrutinise guidance documents when regulations are laid to amend the Welfare of Farmed Animals (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2020 in relation to each new guidance document and a notice is laid in parliament to revoke the previous code of practice. Animal Welfare guidance can be also used for enforcement purposes in a similar way to Animal Welfare Codes.

The 2020 Regulations have been amended to include all the new guidance documents published so far, and all related codes have been revoked.

5.5 Updated modern standards of zoo practice

Zoo Licensing

Any zoo in Scotland, England or Wales displaying wild animals that are not normally domesticated in Great Britain is subject to the requirements of the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 as amended (ZLA). The Act puts in place requirements for regular inspections and conservation activities and provides powers to assign zoo inspectors and to put in place standards that should be met. Although all UK zoos are governed by the UK Zoo Licensing Act 1981; the welfare of zoo animals is a devolved matter, and licencing and inspection is the responsibility of the relevant Local Authority, with assistance from APHA in assigning trained Zoo Inspectors. Further information is available at Zoos in Scotland: guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

Standards

A key tool in implementing the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 (ZLA) is the The Secretary of State’s Standards of Modern Zoo Practice (the Standards), which are the basis on which zoos are regularly inspected against and form key reference material for those operating zoos. These Standards specify the minimum standards that zoos in England and Scotland are expected to meet. Wales currently has its own standards. The current version of the Standards was published in 2012, with limited revisions in 2017.

Knowledge about the best way to manage wild animals in captivity in terms of health, welfare, public safety and conservation is expanding constantly, and it is important that the Standards reflect current thinking.

Review

The review was mainly conducted by the UK Zoo Expert Committee (ZEC), which advises Ministers across the UK, in discussion with Defra, and the Welsh and Scottish Governments. A 12-week consultation on a revised version of the Standards was issued in March 2022. Due to the technical nature of the Standards, it was targeted specifically at all GB zoos, aquariums, Local Authorities, and Zoo Inspectors appointed under the ZLA, plus additional key stakeholders.

It is intended that the revised Standards will replace the Secretary of State’s Standards of Modern Zoo Practice (2012) in England and Scotland, and the National Assembly of Wales Standards of Modern Zoo Practice (2006) in Wales. It was also intended that compliance with the new standards be made a mandatory licence condition under the ZLA via an amendment to the UK Zoo Licencing Act 1981 as part of Defra’s planned Kept Animals Bill. Unfortunately, with the fall of that Bill, the planned changes to the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 have been blocked and there currently seems to be little appetite within the UK Government to take the changes to the ZLA forward by another route.

Despite this, the revised GB Standards represent a real improvement, taking on-board advances in best practice and changes in attitudes around the welfare of animals in zoos as far as considered possible at the present time. In particular they introduce detailed and robust standards regarding

• Conservation – new standards have been added around conservation, and related research and education, including new requirements for a documented Conservation Strategy and for an annual Conservation Summary.
• Touch pools –new standards state that vertebrates, decapods, and cephalopods must not be kept in touch pools, that the welfare needs of the animals that are used must be met, and that they should have a choice over whether to interact with the public.
• Tethering birds of prey – new standards will phase out long-term tethering as a form of accommodation from 1 January 2030. From that date, tethering exceeding a cumulative total of 4 hours per 24-hour period will not be permitted except during training or for veterinary treatment.
• Live feeding of vertebrates – not routinely undertaken but may occasionally be necessary in extreme situations. New standards include requirements for: a documented live feeding procedure that ensures that live feeding of vertebrates is supervised, prey is not left in the predator’s enclosure indefinitely, and that uneaten prey is humanely euthanised; notification of the licensing authority; records to be kept; and time limits on the use of live feeding of vertebrates

Revised Standards

A finalised version of the revised Standards was cleared for publication by the Scottish Minister for Energy and the Environment on 30^th November 2023. We are still awaiting UK Ministerial clearance.

5.6 The tuberculosis (scotland) order 2023

Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) is a serious infectious disease of cattle, caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis (M.bovis), which mainly affects cattle, but can also be passed between most mammals and from infected animals to people. The risk of people contracting bTB from animals in Great Britain is considered very low. Scotland was recognised as being officially TB free (OTF) by the European Commission in September 2009. Maintaining OTF status is crucial to the continuing success of the Scottish cattle industry which is regulated in terms of controls for TB by the Tuberculosis (Scotland) Order.

The Scottish Government is committed to a comprehensive, practical and proportionate programme of measures to maintain the current low levels of TB in cattle and other species and to safeguard OTF status. This includes minimising the risks from all potential sources of infection and reducing the risk of disease spread as far as possible.

The Tuberculosis (Scotland) Order 2023 came into force on 18 May 2023 and fully consolidated the Scottish legislation on bovine tuberculosis. The Order amended requirements for pre-movement testing of cattle. These amendments changed the period a pre-movement test is valid from 60 to 30 days and ended the use of a clear short interval test at the end of a breakdown as a valid pre-movement test. Both policies were introduced to reduce the risk of disease entering the country by adding extra precautions for animals coming from higher areas of infection. The reduction in the validity period of a negative pre-movement test from 60 to 30 days aligns with EU policy in this area, in adopting the WOAH-recognised international standard. The aim of these policies was to prevent or reduce the movement of the disease from parts of Great Britain where the disease is present, or significantly more prevalent, and which would pose a serious threat to the health of cattle.

The Order also introduced provisions for reduced compensation for unclean cattle slaughtered for bTB control purposes reduces risk of food hygiene contamination at the slaughterhouse. We believe this would incentivise farmers to keep their animals clean and promote better animal health and welfare.

A definition for isolation to the bTB Order and a new policy which will reduce compensation for reactors or inconclusive reactors which are not properly isolated were introduced and will strengthen the protection of the main herd against onward spread of infection from any reactors or suspect reactors.

We have not seen an increase in non-compliance associated with the new rules, which is positive and hopefully means that our messaging on the new requirements has been effective.

5.7 Translocation of beavers

The Scottish Government announced in the Scottish Parliament in November 2021 that where practicable, more use will be made of translocation of beavers, including considering other locations in Scotland. Financial and practical support will be made available to facilitate translocation.

Timeline of beaver releases

• 2009 - First Beaver release in Knapdale
• November 2021 - A family of five beavers were translocated under licence from areas where they were causing serious agricultural damage for farmers to the Argaty Red Kite centre near Doune.
• February 2022 - A second family of beavers were released at the same location.
• January 2023 - RSPB Scotland translocated a family group of seven beavers from an area in Tayside as part of plans to speed up the return of beavers to the Loch Lomond National Nature Reserve.
• December 2023 - The first of up to 6 beaver families is released at Rothiemurchus in the Cairngorms National Park Authority, one of the agreed sites in the upper River Spey catchment.

On 5 December 2023, NatureScot approved a licence application from the Cairngorms National Park Authority to release up to six beaver families at agreed sites in the upper River Spey catchment.

The approval marks the fifth catchment to which beavers have either been officially granted permission to remain or have been released. Populations are already established in Tayside, on the Forth, in Knapdale and Loch Lomond.

Beaver Management Report January 2023 to April 2024

NatureScot published their management report on 30 July 2024.

The summary includes the following:

• There was significant progress with beaver translocations to both Cairngorms and Loch Lomond National Parks as well as multiple reinforcements within range in Tayside, Forth and Knapdale. In total 40 beavers were released in Scotland and 34 animals were moved to licenced enclosure projects in England.
• Records for beavers in new areas point to the population continuing to expand naturally in parts of Tayside, the wider Forth area, into West Lothian and Fife, with some evidence of dispersal from Knapdale and in the Highlands. A survey of the beaver population (excluding Knapdale and Spey) is planned for winter 24/25 to provide an up-to-date assessment of beaver populations.
• In total 85 beavers were removed from conflict sites over a 16-month period, with 90% of these being by trapping rather than by lethal control. This compares with the proportion trapped being 42% in 2022 and 28% in 2021. A total of 122 dams were removed under licence in the same period.
• The number of beavers being lethally controlled (8 over this period) is significantly reduced from previous levels and reflects the effort that has gone into supporting trapping and land managers willingness to try this approach first. Whilst these low numbers are very welcome, it is important to highlight these levels may not be achievable every year, given the population is continuing to expand, that trapping is dependent of the requirement for beaver removal and the feasibility of trapping at these locations and translocation on the availability of release sites.
• Currently there are more release sites available in the Spey catchment and in licenced projects in England, but a forward plan for future release sites is being developed both within the approved range and in new catchments.

5.8 Hunting with dogs

The Bill was passed on 24 January 2023 and became an Act on 07 March 2023.

The Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023 introduces a two dog limit for hunting, unless a licence has been granted by NatureScot. The Bill contains two different licensing schemes:

• For the management of wild mammals above ground
• For environmental benefit

Licences for the management of wild mammals above ground.

Licences can be granted for the following purposes:

• Preventing serious damage to livestock, woodland or crops
• Preventing the spread of disease
• Protecting human health

Permission must be granted by the landowner

Licences for environmental benefit

• Licences must be part of a ‘scheme or plan’
• Can be granted for the following purposes:
• Preserving, protecting or restoring a particular species (incl. controlling the number of species for its welfare) for environmental benefit
• Preserving, protecting or restoring the diversity of animal or plant life
• Eradicating an invasive non-native species of wild mammal from an area
• Permission must be granted by the landowner, or the person is carrying out an activity under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 act regarding INNS or deer culling under the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996.
• Can be granted for up to two years
• The longer two year licences are only available for environmental schemes, not general wildlife management, one condition of which is that the scheme must have a significant or long-term environmental benefit.
• NatureScot also has discretion to issue shorter licences, depending on the requirements of the scheme, so two years will be the maximum, but we expect to see licences only issued for the length of time that is necessary.

Licensing conditions:

• Licences can be granted to a particular person or category of persons (e.g. a group of farmers from neighbouring farms).
• Must relate to a particular species of wild mammal.
• Will only be grated if NatureScot are satisfied that there is no other solution which would be effective.
• Must only permit the minimum number of dogs that would be effective and require a minimum number of guns to be present to ensure that the mammal is dispatched as soon as reasonably possible.
• NatureScot can introduce any conditions that they consider appropriate, including reporting requirements.
• Can be granted for 14 days within a period of six consecutive months.
• Any dogs used in the activity must be under control.

5.9 Snares

The Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 included a provision to prohibit the use of a snare or any other type of cable restraint for the purpose of killing or trapping a wild animal and prohibiting the use of a snare or other type of cable restraint in any way that is likely to injure a wild animal.

The ban on snares came into force on 25 November 2024.

5.10 Grouse moor licensing

The Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 (“the Act”) was introduced to address raptor persecution and ensure that the management of grouse moors and related activities are undertaken in an environmentally sustainable and welfare conscious manner. The Act does this by implementing the recommendations of the independent review of grouse moor management (the “Werritty” review) which included introducing a licensing regime for land used for the shooting of red grouse.

The Act also banned muirburn on peatland unless carried out under a licence issued by NatureScot for limited purposes. Licensing will provide an effective means of deterring wildlife crime, as well as encouraging compliance with a Code of Practice for grouse moor management.

The Grouse licensing scheme went live on 15 July 2024 and NatureScot accepted licence applications in advance of the grouse shooting season which commenced on 12 August 2024.

The muirburn provisions and new muirburn Code will take longer to develop due to the complexities of the licensing systems required – particularly the development of NatureScot’s online licensing system. We expect to bring this in before the September 2025 muirburn season.

• The Act also includes a licensing scheme for certain wildlife traps, bans the use of snares and glue traps.
• We will be implementing these changes over the coming months with stakeholders given plenty of time to make any necessary changes.

5.11 SSPCA wildlife powers

The Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 also provided Scottish SPCA inspectors with additional powers to search, examine and seize evidence in connection with specified wildlife crime offences under Part 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and certain offences in the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024. The provisions came into force in October 2024; however, inspectors will not actually have these extended powers in practice until they have completed the relevant training.

5.12 Spring trap approval order

The Spring Traps Approval (Scotland) Amendment Order 2023 came into effect on 1 January 2024. It amends the Spring Traps Approval (Scotland) Order 2011 to:

• provide an additional type of spring trap (Quill Trap) for stoat, which complies with the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards, and adds several other new spring traps for non-AIHTS species
• remove edible dormice from the species listed for certain traps, leaving only three spring traps approved (Goodnature A24 rat and stoat trap; Kania Trap 2000; and Kania Trap 2500)