Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) Stage 1

Screening - key questions

1. Name the policy, and describe its overall aims.

The Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill will repeal and replace the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002 (“the 2002 Act”) which makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal using a dog in Scotland except in limited specified circumstances.

The Bill will broadly replicate the core provisions of the 2002 Act but will address the inconsistencies and ambiguities in the language of the 2002 Act to make the law easier to understand and to enforce. The use of dogs to hunt wild mammals in Scotland will continue to be banned except in limited specified circumstances and for certain permitted activities. Additionally, it will introduce measures to:

• Limit the number of dogs that can be used to search for, stalk or flush wild mammals from cover above ground to two.
• Introduce a licensing regime for the use of more than two dogs to search for, stalk or flush wild mammals above ground in certain limited circumstances.
• Limit the number of dogs that can be used to search for or flush foxes or mink from cover below ground to one.
• Prohibit the activity known as trail hunting (the activity of directing a dog to find and follow an animal-based scent).

The provisions of the Bill will affect those who wish to lawfully use dogs within the terms of the permitted exceptions to hunt wild mammals, those who commit offences under the Bill and those who have a role in enforcing the legislation.

The Bill provisions are not considered to negatively affect those who lawfully carry out the activities which are permitted in the exceptions to the principal offence of hunting a wild mammal using dogs.

It is anticipated that changes to the legislation made by the Bill may initially result in a small increase in court cases relating to offences of hunting a wild mammal using a dog because the Bill removes some of the current barriers to enforcement of the existing prohibition. However, the broader expectation is of a longer-term reduction in the total number of cases as a result of clearer legislation, thereby removing any doubt as to what constitutes an offence or not.

2. What aspects of the policy/measure will affect children and young people up to the age of 18?

The Bill will not affect children unless they commit an offence, and therefore enter the justice system, where they will be treated accordingly and with all the associated relevant safeguards.

The standard of proof required to prosecute those charged with an offence under the Bill remains unchanged and it is still a matter for the courts to decide the appropriate sentence to impose, based on guidelines for dealing with children and young people and will take into account all the evidence and mitigating factors presented to them.

3. What likely impact – direct or indirect – will the policy/measure have on children and young people?

‘Direct’ impacts of the 2002 Act exist and will be unaffected by the current Bill provisions; if a child commits an offence, social services would have a role in dealing with the consequences of their actions.

4. Which groups of children and young people will be affected?

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

5. Will this require a CRWIA?

It is considered that the policy contained within the Bill provisions brings 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.

As discussed, the Bill broadly replicates certain offences currently set out in the 2002 Act, and for those offences, the impacts on children's rights will be identical to those faced in the current legislative regime.

For the new offences created by the Bill e.g. the offence of engaging or participating in trail hunting, there will be no additional impact on children’s rights compared to the impact of the existing offences.

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.

CRWIA Declaration

CRWIA required

CRWIA not required

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Authorisation

Policy lead

Leia Fitzgerald, Wildlife Legislation Team

Date

3^rd February 2022

Deputy Director or equivalent

Cate Turton, Deputy Director, Natural Resources Division

Date

7^th February 2022