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

6. Conclusions and proposed action

6.1 2020 Act provisions

After considering the matter, the Scottish Government concludes that no legislative changes to the 2020 Act provisions are required. This review has, however, highlighted other further action that might merit consideration:

• More time, and therefore data, and a detailed look at individual Court cases would be required to determine the true impact of the changes to proceedings and penalties of animal welfare and wildlife legislation implemented by the 2020 Act. Given the independence of the justice system from Government, this level of analysis and commentary is not something that it would be appropriate for the Scottish Government to be involved in. However, we are aware that the Scottish Sentencing Council are intending to create sentencing guidelines for animal welfare and wildlife offences in due course, and the suggested further analysis may be something that they undertake as part of this work.
• In light of the calls for a further extension to the time available for the investigation of wildlife crime, it is suggested that this be looked at again by the Scottish Government, enforcement agencies and the Crown Office for the Procurator Fiscal after more time has passed, more cases have been tried, and more data is available.
• In light of the ongoing issues at the intersection of seal conservation and farmed fish welfare, is it suggested that the Scottish Government continue discussion with stakeholders in the aquaculture and conservation sectors regarding alternative seal management strategies with stakeholders.
• Given the relatively low recognition by the stakeholders surveys of the clear and significant impact that the 2020 Act had on the use of disqualification orders for offences under Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 had, it is suggested that the Scottish Government and the Scottish Courts Tribunal Service discuss whether it would be possible to make the reasoning behind decisions on disqualifications more accessible, and whether it would be appropriate and possible to develop a database of disqualifications accessible to enforcement agencies.
• Regarding concerns raised about the inadequate resources available for enforcing animal welfare and wildlife legislation in general, and for taking possession of animals to protect their welfare in particular, it is worth noting that the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission is currently considering the matter of enforcement. Once their report is available, it is suggested that the Scottish Government and enforcement agencies should hold discussions regarding how the prioritisation and resourcing of animal welfare and wildlife related enforcement could be improved.

6.2 Pet theft

After considering the matter, the Scottish Government has concluded that it will not currently seek to legislate on pet theft. There does not appear to be a consensus on whether such a move is necessary at present, and there is a related Member Bill under current consideration by the Scottish Parliament.

6.3 Static pulse collars

As set out in this review:

• There remains no consensus within the dog training industry or the dog owning population on either the need for or merits of such a move.
• Opinion is also divided amongst wider organisations such as dog breeding organisations, pet training and pet advisory organisations, veterinarians, police, the Kennel Club, farmers and other bodies.
• While there is a risk of mis-use of these devices, as there is with many other training tools, the scientific evidence does not indicate that static pulse collars are inherently harmful to all dogs, and there is no evidence to suggest that they are more harmful than other aversive training devices in common use.
• There have been no reported written warnings, prosecutions or convictions arising from the misuse of, and harm caused by use of a static pulse collar in Scotland.

However, given the clear recommendation by SAWC in 2023, and the fact that the last relevant Scottish Government consultation undertaken was 10 years ago, we will consult on a proposal to ban remote controlled training collars using static pulse as a stimulus.

We will also carefully consider the recently completed SAWC report on the welfare impact of a wider range of aversive training devices but note that this report does not recommend the prohibition of devices other than remote controlled static pulse collars.