Scottish Animal Welfare Commission: minutes 25 January 2023

Attendees and apologies

Scottish Animal Welfare Commission (SAWC) members

• Cathy Dwyer, Chair
• Harvey Carruthers
• Mike Flynn
• Libby Anderson
• Mike Radford
• Andrew Kitchener
• Simon Girling
• Pete Goddard
• Marie Haskell
• Ellie Wigham

Animal Welfare Committee (AWC)

• Madeleine Campbell, Chair

Scottish Government

• Andrew Voas, Veterinary Head of Animal Welfare
• Andy McKinlay, Policy Officer and Secretariat Support, Animal Welfare Team

Apologies

• Paula Boyden, SAWC
• James Yeates, SAWC

Items and actions

Scottish Animal Welfare Commission (SAWC) members

The Chair welcomed the members to the first SAWC plenary meeting of 2023.

Updates and Activity since last plenary meeting

SAWC

Since the last plenary meeting in September 2022:

SAWC published:

• Exotic Pets Final Report
• Snaring Position Paper
• Welfare of Beavers Report
• Review of Scottish Government activity affecting the welfare of animals
• Annual Report 2021-22
• Revised Work Plan

SAWC responded to 4 consultations, on:

• Wildlife Management (Grouse) Bill
• Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill
• Shark Fins Bill

• Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill

SAWC's working groups have continued to work on other reports (see Work Group Updates section below)

Established two new working groups to look at:

• How different local authorities handle animal welfare issues
• Greyhound Racing

Scottish Government

Officials continue to monitor and work with  DEFRA on issues which may extend to Scotland or have a potential impact in Scotland, including a shared interest on future microchipping legislation

Bill going through the Scottish Parliament – a statutory code of practice for people who are buying dogs

Ongoing work supporting the AWC on castration docking of sheep

Developing discussions on a future Scottish Veterinary Service, which is a Programme for Government commitment

Work Group Updates

Exotic Pets

The final report and literature review were published in November.

Aquaculture

Work group members are in the final stages of drafting the on acoustic deterrent devices and salmon farming.  The aim is still to publish it around the end of February.

Dog Training

Work on the report on the use of electronic collars is ongoing, and members have also now conducted a thorough literature review.  Another work group meeting will take place before the report is published.

Snaring

A position paper on the live trapping of terrestrial wild mammals and using snares for lethal control in Scotland was published in December.

Beavers

A report on the welfare of beavers in Scotland was published in December.

Wildlife Welfare

Work Group Members have had recent further discussions about rewilding and the Hunting with Dogs Bill.

Greyhounds

SAWC has formed a working group to look at greyhound racing in Scotland in order to undertake more research and fully consider the available evidence, in order to reach a balanced conclusion by the end of February.  Members have already spoken with various stakeholders, and also paid a visit to Thornton Racing Track in Fife.

Local Authorities Handling Animal Welfare Issues

One meeting has taken place so far of the newly formed working group which is focusing on this issue. 

Sentience Sub-Committee

Members are still keen to put something together on sentience/consciousness in fish, as well as on associated ethical frameworks, and this will be discussed further at a future working group meeting.

Work Plan Discussion

A revised work plan was published in December. Members discussed whether any other potential revisions are required. 

Update on UK Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) Work

Cathy welcomed Professor Madeleine Campbell to the meeting, and congratulated her on her appointment as the new Chair of the AWC.

A number of new appointments have been made to the AWC, and work plans going forward are currently being set out.

Cathy and Madeleine agreed on the importance of keeping open lines of communication between SAWC and AWC.

There is ongoing AWC work on tail docking and castration in lambs, supported by the Scottish Government.

SAWC also wrote to the Chair of the recently established Animal Sentience Committee, Michael Seals, congratulating him on his appointment.

Next Meeting/s

The next plenary meeting will take place on 3rd May 2023.

Any other business

EuroFAWC’s next annual meeting is due to take place on 6-7 June in the Netherlands.  Cathy represented SAWC last year.  Members await the programme for this year’s meeting.