Use of Fixed Penalty Notices for wildlife offences in Scotland: consultation analysis

Background

The Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) Bill was introduced to Parliament in September 2019. It proposes to increase penalties for the most serious animal welfare and wildlife offences, as well as making various procedural changes.

In addition to increasing penalties, the Bill would also create flexible powers to allow various FPN regimes to effectively deal with a wide range of animal welfare offences.

Following introduction of the Bill the Scottish Government ran a targeted stakeholder consultation seeking views on extending these powers to allow FPNs for wildlife offences.

The consultation on proposals for FPN powers to be added to the Bill for wildlife offences can be found at Annex A.

The Scottish Government also undertook separate consultations on FPNs for animal welfare and health offences.

The Animal Health & Welfare Act Amendment Consultation 2019 ran from 1 February 2019 to 26 April 2019. 61.4% of respondents agreed with the proposal to allow FPNs for animal welfare offences, the consultation and analysis can be found below;

https://consult.gov.scot/animal-welfare/animal-health-welfare-act-amendment-2019/

The Animal Health Act 1981 Amendment Consultation ran from 3 October 2019 to 23 December 2019. The consultation asked the public if they agree that FPNs should be considered for animal health offences. The analysis of the animal health consultation will be published shortly.