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

2. Programme for Government

The Scottish Government issued the 2023-2024 Programme in September 2023, setting out its commitments for the coming parliamentary year. These were made in the context of what the then First Minister, Humza Yousaf MSP, described in the Programme foreword as "one of the most difficult public spending environments that this devolved Parliament has ever seen". The main aims of the Programme focussed on reducing poverty, promoting growth "which is both fair and green", and on delivering high quality public services. As in previous years, considerable emphasis was placed on addressing the impacts of climate change, with the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition, Máiri McAllan MSP, stating:

"Tackling the climate crisis also means protecting our natural environment by halting the loss of habitat and biodiversity. Loss of species and degradation of ecosystems and habitats pose real risks to Scotland's nature on which our future wellbeing depends."

Ms McAllan committed to publishing Scotland's Biodiversity Strategy and building on the international engagement undertaken in developing the Edinburgh Declaration adopted at COP15. Consultation on statutory nature recovery targets and protecting 30% of Scotland's land and sea for nature by 2030 was to be undertaken in preparation for the introduction of a Natural Environment Bill to Parliament. £500 million was to be invested to drive landscape scale change, including a £65 million Nature Restoration Fund and new financial support for Nature Networks.

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and the Islands, Mairi Gougeon MSP, undertook to continue the Agricultural Reform Programme to produce more food sustainably, cut carbon emissions and farm with nature, by increasing the uptake of carbon audits, soil testing and biodiversity audits, and funding to improve animal health. The Scottish Government would consult on phasing out cages for gamebirds and laying hens, and publish its response to the consultation on extending the framework for licensing activities involving animals.

An Agriculture (Scotland) Bill was announced for introduction during 2023-2024, providing powers to deliver the Scottish Government's Vision for Agriculture to replace current common agricultural policy schemes through an adaptive support framework that focuses on high quality food production, climate mitigation and adaptation, nature protection and restoration, and wider rural development.

A new aquaculture consenting process was to be piloted in two local authority areas and a new Technical Standard for Scottish Finfish Aquaculture was to be introduced to reduce the risk of escapes from fish farms.

Ms Gougeon also committed to completing implementation of the recommendations of the Werritty Review through the passage of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill (see section 3), introduced in March 2023, and to use the Bill to introduce a ban on snaring in Scotland.

While some of these commitments are tangential, rather than fundamental, to the welfare of sentient individual animals in Scotland, they are mentioned here because such overarching aims do have the potential to affect animal welfare and this merits a degree of monitoring. The commitments with direct relevance to animal welfare – covering cages for gamebirds and laying hens, licensing of activities involving animals, and the regulation of traps and snares – are discussed in more detail in sections 3 and 5 below. Policy and legislation work initiated prior to the period covered by the 2023-2024 Programme are also covered in this report.