Scottish Animal Welfare Commission: workplans

December 2025 – current workplan 

Ongoing projects

Animal sentience

A Sentience Sub-Committee was set up at the end of 2021, in order to assist the other members of SAWC in filtering and prioritising issues relating to animal sentience. Ongoing work includes the development of an ethics and justice framework, drawing on recent Aquaculture Working Group work. A new sub-group was also set up to look into foetal sentience in July 2025. A report on ascribing sentience to fish: potential policy implications was published in May 2025.

Wildlife welfare

Scottish Government has a Programme for Government commitment to publish ‘a strategic approach to wildlife management that puts animal welfare at the centre while protecting public health and economic and conservation considerations.” SAWC is engaging with NatureScot on their wildlife welfare principles which forms part of this commitment. From May 2023, the working group considered the issue of translocations and reintroductions of wild animal species and published a report in October 2025.  

Local authorities handling animal welfare issues

The working group is reviewing how different authorities deal with animal welfare issues, whether there are experts who can assess welfare and whether any future recommendations could feasibly be met by the local authorities. 

Timescale

A report is expected to be completed in late 2026.

Performing animals and animal encounters (potentially including therapy animals)
SAWC formed a working group to provide an opinion on welfare of animals used under these different types of management, including the lives of these animals when not on exhibit/in use. 

Timescale

A report is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026.

Review of Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006

2026 will mark the 20th anniversary of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act.  This is an opportunity for SAWC members to review the act and how it is promoting animal welfare and preventing harm. Three sub-working groups were formed in August 2025.

Timescale

A report is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

Equine welfare

Members agreed to set up a working group in 2025 to consider and prioritise issues around equine welfare for leisure horses in Scotland.

Timescale

A report is expected to be completed in 2026.

Good Food Nation

In April 2025, the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands commissioned SAWC to recommend further robust, meaningful and achievable indicators of animal welfare for farmed animals which could be included in the next iteration of the Good Food Nation Plan.

Timescale

SAWC are commissioned to report on this by the end of 2025.

St Kilda Sheep

At the November 2025 plenary meeting and in response to a request from the CVO Scotland, members agreed to set up a new working group to consider the moral and ethical issues for landowners associated with the management of feral animals in Scotland, including the sheep on St Kilda, and to produce a collective opinion on welfare issues for these animals.

Data collection

At the November 2025 plenary meeting, members considered that issues around data collection on animals, such as traceability, losses and other standardised welfare metrics were relevant and important to understanding and managing animal welfare. A new working group will be established to address this soon.

Other annual commitments

• annual report – 2025 to 2026
• annual review of Scottish Government activity affecting the welfare of animals, as sentient beings