Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill: child rights and wellbeing screening

3. Which groups of children and young people are currently or will be affected by the relevant proposal?

The Bill will affect children and young people in the way outlined above. It is anticipated that the impact of the Bill will be minor as, while we have no data on the number of children in Scotland who regularly:

• Use or purchase glue traps;
• Use wildlife traps;
• Shoot red grouse or own land on which grouse shooting occurs;
• Undertake muirburn;

It is considered that this number is low.

There may be a small number of young people employed as gamekeepers on grouse shooting estates whose employment may be impacted if the estate fails to obtain or loses its licence.

The Bill will directly impact children and young people if they commit and offence. If a child commits an offence, social services will have a role in dealing with the consequences of their actions.

No particular groups of children will be affected by the Bill provisions.

Declaration

4. Is a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment required?

CRWIA not required Please explain why below and contact the children’s rights unit to discuss this decision crwia@gov.scot

Explanation of why CRWIA is not required:

It is considered that the Bill as summarised above will bring no discernible reduction or progress in children’s rights or their wellbeing, and therefore a Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) is not required.

The Bill introduces a new set of offences, however the Bill will only affect those who commit these new offences. For the new offences created by the Bill, there will be no additional impact on children’s rights compared to the standard legal process.

It is hoped that children and wider society will benefit from the message that animal cruelty and wildlife crime are not to be tolerated in our modern and progressive society, and that those who perpetrate these offences will face proportionate and expedient justice.

5. Sign & Date

Policy Lead Signature & Date of Sign Off: Leia Fitzgerald, 14/03/2023

CRWIA author, if different from policy lead, Signature & Date of Sign Off: N/A

Deputy Director Signature & Date of Sign Off: Cate Turton, Deputy Director, Natural Resources, 17/03/2023

Date SGLD contacted: 06/03/2023

Once signed off, please send to CRWIA@gov.scot and publish on gov.scot or relevant Executive Agency website.