Tag: Rural Affairs & Islands Committee

Holyrood Committee agrees general principles of Dog Theft (Scotland) Bill

More work is needed if the Dog Theft (Scotland) Bill proceeds to the next stage of the legislative process. This is the recommendation in a new report issued by Holyrood’s Rural Affairs & Islands Committee.

Publishing its Stage 1 report, the Committee says that it supports the general principles of the Bill. However, should the Bill progress to the next stage, the Committee sets out areas for reconsideration and development.

The Committee says that, although the creation of a specific statutory offence of dog theft would recognise that dogs are sentient beings and reflect the impact on animal welfare, there is no clear evidence to suggest that a statutory offence would be used more in practice than the existing common law.

In addition, without a dedicated budget for raising awareness of the statutory offence, and with similar penalties as are currently available for the existing offence, the Committee say it is unlikely to act as a strong deterrent.

The report also says that making the theft of an assistance dog an aggravated crime does not seem a ‘proportionate provision’. To date, no instances of dog theft have been reported, and the court system can already consider the impact of any theft, if a case does come to court.

The Committee recommends however that, if the proposed aggravation proceeds to Stage 2, a broader definition for dogs providing support and assistance, for example working farm dogs, should be included.

The Committee says that it does not support allowing victims of dog theft to make victim statements to the court.

During scrutiny, stakeholders said that courts already consider the impact of crimes on victims and that providing this opportunity to victims of dog theft, would create an anomaly with other crimes which do not allow victim support statements.

Instead, the Committee asks the Scottish Government to include dog theft within its broader commitment to expand the range of offences where victim statements are allowed.

Committee Convener, Finlay Carson MSP, said; “This is a well-intentioned Bill which merits our support at this stage in the legislative process. We agree that dog theft is a terrible crime, and that appropriate legislation should be in place to reflect this.

“However, evidence provided to us during our scrutiny suggests that many of the Bill provisions are already available within the current court system and procedures. It’s important to ensure legislation and enforcement procedures do not create untended consequences or further bureaucratic burdens.

“It’s now for the Scottish Parliament to consider the reservations we have set out in our report and to decide the best route forward.”

Holyrood committee seeks views on Scottish Natural Environment Bill

Holyrood’s Rural Affairs & Islands Committee is seeking views on legislative proposals which aim to help restore nature and protect biodiversity in Scotland.

The Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill would place a duty on Ministers to set the first legally binding nature restoration targets in Scotland, recognising that previous non-statutory approaches have failed to halt nature decline.

The Bill also provides Scottish Ministers with powers to amend environmental impact assessment legislation and habitats regulations; make changes to National Parks legislation to modernise how they are managed; and make detailed changes to wild deer legislation, to modernise how they are managed and respond to the twin climate and nature crises.

The Scottish Government says that “taken together, the provisions in this Bill aim to support the work already being undertaken by land managers, farmers, nature agencies, charities and the stewards of our land, to restore and protect the natural environment on which we all depend.”

Speaking as the inquiry was launched, Committee Convener, Finlay Carson MSP, said; “We depend on nature for the food we eat, the surroundings we live in, and to help mitigate the impacts of climate change. Improving biodiversity and regenerating the natural environment, should be important to us all.

“The focus of our inquiry will be to ensure that the measures proposed in the Bill are appropriate and firmly underpin Scotland’s goals of protecting biodiversity and reducing harmful carbon emissions.

“Casting our net wide, we would like to hear from those with environmental and wildlife interests, planners, national park authorities, regulators, deer management groups, to name only a few.

“Do you think that statutory nature targets are needed in Scotland? Do you agree with the proposed changes to the aims of National Parks or the way wild deer would be managed in Scotland?

“Please get in touch to share your views and help us ensure that this Bill does what it says it will do.”

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The committee will take oral evidence over the coming months before submitting a report to the Scottish Parliament later in the year.

The call for views closes on Friday 9 May 2025 and be accessed here.

Further regulation of the process for buying dogs should be welcomed, says Holyrood Committee

Further regulation of the process for buying dogs should be welcomed, says the Rural Affairs & Islands Committee, but registering unlicensed litters is unlikely to make a difference to issues around traceability.

The Committee’s report concludes its stage 1 scrutiny of the Welfare of Dogs (Scotland) Bill which aims to establish ‘a more responsible and informed approach to acquiring and owning a dog’ and ‘regulate the selling or transferring of puppies from unlicensed litters’.

In light of a growing number of problems across Scotland resulting from people buying dogs which suffer from poor health or buying breeds unsuitable for their lifestyles, the Committee agrees that further measures are needed to promote the more responsible acquisition of dogs.

It says that educating people looking to buy puppies and dogs, so that they buy the right dog for their lifestyle, and avoid the pitfalls of purchasing through unscrupulous breeders, is key.

To this end, the Committee agrees with Part 1 of the Bill which would establish a code of practice and require both buyers and sellers to sign a certificate to confirm they have thought through the practicalities of owning a dog before taking on the responsibility.

It also says that a publicity campaign to raise awareness of the code of conduct is essential but calls on the Scottish Government to do all it can to ensure the campaign is more effective than some previous campaigns, which have had a limited impact.

However, the Committee does not agree with Part 2 of the Bill and the proposed requirement to register unlicensed litters. Members agree this approach wouldn’t give any indication about a dog’s welfare or whether it had been bred by a responsible breeder. Neither, the report says, do local authorities have the finances or the resource to be able to enforce it.

Instead, the Committee calls on the Scottish Government to continue to explore whether a UK-wide single microchip database would help solve the problem. If this is not possible, the Committee asks the Scottish Ministers to detail what other measures they will take to improve the traceability of dogs.

Launching the report, Beatrice Wishart, Deputy Convener of the Committee, said; “This is an extremely well-intentioned Bill, introduced at a time when dog welfare issues are, as we heard from stakeholders, almost at an unprecedented level.

“We were told that a fifth of people spend less than two hours researching whether to get a puppy and a third say they wouldn’t know how to spot a rogue breeder. Clearly measures are needed to promote the best chances for a dog’s happy and healthy life and to support buyers in making responsible decisions for their families, lifestyles and their finances.

“We support the Bill’s aim of influencing unscrupulous breeding by educating prospective dog owners and that is why publicity should be maximised around the strengthened regulation this Bill would create.”

“It is also vitally important that a solution is found to reassure buyers about the origins, health, and well-being of puppies they are buying, and we will continue to press the Scottish Government on this.

“Thank you to everyone who contributed to this inquiry.”

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