Scottish Animal Welfare Commission – Review of Scottish Government activity affecting the welfare of animals, as sentient beings

1. Background

This is the fourth review by the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission (SAWC) of Scottish Government activity affecting the welfare of animals in Scotland.

Under Regulation 5(2)(b) of the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission Regulations 2020, one of the functions of SAWC is to provide advice on any matters concerning the welfare of protected animals on which SAWC considers it should offer its advice.

At its inaugural meeting in March 2020, SAWC agreed that, in addition to its obligation under Regulation 14 of the 2020 Regulations to report on its own activities to the Scottish Ministers and Scottish Parliament, it would be desirable also to review relevant activity by the Scottish Government.

SAWC believed that such a review would facilitate its provision of advice to promote the welfare of animals in Scotland. It would also go some way towards replacing the requirement, previously placed upon the UK government (and thereby, the four administrations) by Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), to pay full regard to animal welfare.

In its first review, published in November 2021, the Commission reviewed the activities of the Scottish Government from 12 May 2016 - 5 May 2021 (Session 5 of the Scottish Parliament), including its legislative proposals and delivery.

The second review considered progress against the "Programme for Government 2021-2022 A Fairer, Greener Scotland" ("the 2021-22 Programme") during the first year of Session 6.

The third review considered the second year of Session 6, covered by the "Programme for Government 2022-2023 A Stronger and More Resilient Scotland ("the 2022-2023 Programme")."

This review considers the third year of Session 6, covered by the "Programme for Government 2023-2024 Equality, Opportunity, Community ("the 2023-2024 Programme")".

While the focus of the review is Scottish Government policy and legislation, which is consistent with the SAWC function of providing advice to the Scottish Ministers, legislation and policy developments emanating from other sources including the UK Government and Members of the Scottish Parliament are also covered for completeness.